Known for its assorted cartoon characters, acting wannabes and celebrity look a-likes, Hollywood Boulevard at Halloween seems like any other day only more so. The bustling street felt like a traffic accident where the action is fast but seems like slow motion as ghouls, goblins and the scantily clad, wandered the streets like Cinderella at crunch time.

In the midst of all this activity, as if quietly perched in the eye of the storm, lies a sophisticated collection of REAL creativity, heart and soul to make up this year’s 23rd annual AFI Film Festival. Weighted with an eclectic ensemble of talented, inspiring, and thoughtful films, this year’s festival runs the gamut from star studded premieres to quiet, provocative films that stay with you long after the credits roll.

Saturday was my first day of film viewing. I traveled to all parts of the world never leaving my seat. First up was a trip to the northeast of the USA to view the intimate details of GUY AND MADELINE ON A PARK BENCH directed by Damien Chazelle. Shot in black and white, this unique perspective of interpersonal wanderlust followed individuals struggling for purpose and meaning in their lives. The jazzy soundtrack added a layer of old time film making where music tells more of the story than does the dialogue.

Next was a trip to Peru in MILK OF SORROW directed by Claudia Llosa, where a harsh landscape was bespeckled with occasional wedding décor, bright wardrobe, occasional humor and busy markets noting the potential for possibility and hope, despite the transcendence of fear and sorrow in the life of Fausta.

From Peru I traveled to South Korea for MOTHER (MADEO) directed by Bong Joon-ho, a captivating murder mystery of a mother who searches for the truth in order to get her wrongly accused son out of prison.

Jet lagged by the day’s end from all the emotional highs and lows, my senses were overloaded to the point of inspiration.

Kim Deisler
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