Santa Barbara

I have to blog and write reviews and festival experiences so my way of making it through the theaters, award ceremonies and parties is by not drinking at the festival parties. Well, some people are a bad influence. Take blogger Craig Smith for example, now he’s a bad influence. Both of us were at the intimate, post-Javier Bardem tribute party at the Sacks Fifth Avenue Store. No red wine was served, but there was plenty of white, along with vodka-enhanced mixed drinks. There was no shopping to be had, but security guards, a DJ spinning in the corner (even a bit of a dance floor), and even Woody Harrelson and Javier Bardem came to chat up the room. 
 

Back to the bad influence, So, at Sacks I indulged in a glass of white, upon Craig’s encouragement. After all, how often does a person get to drink in the men’s department at Sacks with Javier Bardem? 
 

Check out Craig Smith's blog at: http://craigsmithsblog.blogspot.com/

The next day, Craig and I visited the hospitality suite at the Hotel Santa Barbara, the festival hub, where  we met Karoliina Tuovinen. Karoliina is one of the editors, working with tribute director Paul Fagen, who puts together the video clips shown during the award ceremonies and Question and Answer sessions with the stars. Editors are the often-unsung heroes of the film world. As a festival screener, I know this first-hand. I stopped counting how many times I wanted to see a film find a new editor, or have a director actually listen to their editor, or to have the film go back to the editor. In any case, Karoliina described watching 20+ hours of film to select clippings to represent the actors’ bodies of work. They did a great job.

Craig Smith and Karoliina

By Felicia