My Opening Night Report

So, opening night. Had a pair of tix, invited my friend Bill (a passholder) to accompany me. Because it was Opening Night, it was worth getting a bit dressy. I wore a black blazer, white Hello Kitty shirt, black pants done up to look like shiny skin, and red shoes; Bill wore a nice suit.

We got there early, which turned out to be a good thing. First task was to find the media check-in desk. Maryna (SIFF programmer) pointed us to the right doorway, but the door keeper didn’t want to let us thru to the press check-in desk. Did I have credentials? Once I’d convinced him press was instructed to go to the press check-in desk, he then didn’t want to let Bill in, saying, “Press gets to bring someone in?” in a sneering tone that suggested I was trying to pull a fast one on him. Fortunately I’d brought my confirmation email, but I must say, I wasn’t expecting a McCaw staffer to be so rude. Maybe he didn’t like Hello Kitty.

Once past that obstacle, everyone else, SIFF-er and McCaw-er alike, was very nice. After getting in and snagging a seat, we got drinkies, and stood at the top of the stairs watching everyone come in. Passholders Poppe and Bic were very nicely dressed in nice dresses, Bic’s companion (sorry, forgot his name) was even wearing a tux! Photog Steve Smith was sporting his usual kilt, and wings, as he believes the fellow on the SIFF program cover who’s bald, has what looks like a skirt, wings, and a pole with a heart on it is supposed to be him. I said I thought the illustration made me think of Sigmund Freud, but now the P.I. has proclaimed it’s Steve on the SIFF program cover, so I guess it must be so.

There were some other snafus I heard about. Two women had apparently saved seats in our row with a coat, the coat fell to the ground, so other folks moved in and grabbed the seats, leaving the women most irritated when they returned and found their seats gone and the people who took them wouldn’t move. Most rude. And apparently there were some snags with ticketing as well. The pre-show ritual was its usual length. Carl Spence and Deb Person gave statements, then James Klebas (city office of music and film) was introduced, representing the mayor’s office. Presumably the mayor wasn’t there as it was announced his son was indicted that day; just as well, at the last opening night I went to, the people around me booed the mayor when he was introduced. Sponsor Mac Store gave away iPods; sponsor Alaska Airlines got a Chihuly creation. We crossed our fingers she wouldn’t drop it.

Then came Gary Tucker! He actually read out a critical comment received from a SIFF attendee about ticket prices, a gutsy move; not many organizations read out critical messages about themselves to a public audience at one of their biggest events. He pointed out that SIFF ticket prices are cheaper than those at other fests, like Tribeca. True, but then everything’s more expensive in NYC anyway, so that balances things out a bit, doesn’t it? Perhaps an explanation of how the money’s used would have better assuaged the complainers who might imagine SIFFers are living in grand luxury (trust me; they’re not) as the result of a $10 ticket price. Then came the weird ritual of reading out all the sponsor names; “Brian Miller’s least favorite part,” Gary joked, in reference to Brian’s snarky comments about SIFF in the Weekly; Carl Spence even wrote a letter about it in last week’s issue. Anyway, reading the sponsors names does take some time, but Gary makes it entertaining.

Then, the directors of that night’s film were actually introduced. Recognizing that people wanted to get to watch the film already, they kept their comments brief. The film, Son of Rambow, has been written about elsewhere on the blog, so look for more details there. I found it sweet, and fun, definitely above many of SIFF’s past opening night features. As the credits rolled, I informed Bill I was heading for the party; he stayed to watch the credits, to his regret…for when I got to the adjacent Exhibition Hall, where the party was to be held, I made a beeline for the food, where, surprise surprise, I found other passholders already partaking, and by the time Bill arrived there was a massive line. There was a lot of different food; Ezell’s fried chicken, Bill’s “Bodacious” Bar-B-Q, pad thai, little bread slices with assorted toppings, chips and salsa, other things I’m surely forgetting. The bad news was it was set up in only one place, resulting in the huge line; the good news was that the food never ran out, and everybody that waited patiently got something. The better news was that the alcohol lines were very short, and you could imbibe freely quite quickly. I refrained from doing so myself, for a change; I had champagne before the show, but only one beer and one G&T (Bombay Saffire) after. Nice and strong that G&T was too, perhaps because I tipped the bartender before he’d even made it. In fact, I had more trouble finding a soda, as they all seemed to vanish; I resorted to putting ice on a plate and sucking on it, before realizing I could get a glass of club soda with it. D’oh!

I’d been to travel shows and pet shows at the Exhib Hall; it looked very different for SIFF. Wide open, pillars tastefully lit, some tables with chocolates, mints, and Bombay Sapphire glasses scattered on them, and couches. The music too loud of course, for chat, but it always is. They stuck with an ‘80s theme, in keeping with the era of the opening night film; a screen was even showing Pretty In Pink! I’d come in another entrance, and so missed the VIP area entirely, which was outside, under a tent. There was an open area next to it though, where the hoi polloi could go, and get drinkies and coffees (and sodas!) and still be able to make contact with VIP’s should they have desired to; sorry I missed doing that.

Ran around and saw lots of folks I knew, and reconnected with after not seeing them for a year; that’s always the best part. It was very crowded though, which made it hard to find people you knew, as who were all these strangers? How many had just come for the party and not the film? I barely even saw many media folks, at least not for very long. Sean Axmaker (looking quite dapper) as we were leaving; briefly saw Moira McDonald and Shannon Gee. Kathy Fennessy, who’s busy SLOGging away, and fellow siffblogger Steven Fried. Fellow scribe Tim Appello, who I swear will have worked for every media outlet possible eventually. Last year I crashed the VIP room and imbibed freely, this year my work schedule had me getting tired very early, and feeling glad I hadn’t taken advantage of the Bombay Sapphire (one reason, I had an interview with the Girls Rock directors on Friday). And in typical Seattle style, things seemed to be winding down by midnight, though some hangers on were still hangin’ in there. So Bill kindly gave Kathy, Steven, and myself a ride home. Which was much appreciated by all.