Fantasia Day 5 (Monday, July 23)

Day started off a little wonky – got behind schedule as I was racing to prepare lunch/dinner offerings for the week, and so ended up being about 15 minutes late for the first feature, the charming Japanese comedy, Mitsuko Delivers. That said, I’m glad to have the food element under control for the next few days – it’s not easy to do the festival thing on the cheap, and eats are a big expense if you’re not planning ahead. Maybe after I’ve done a few more of these, I can write a film festival survival guide or something. We shall see.

Another element that is rough to navigate is how early one needs to arrive at the next screening in order to gain admittance. Due to the sometimes limited seating, the powers that be have decided that a select number of VIP (industry/press/etc.) pass holders will be admitted prior to the G.P. (general public, i.e. the people who actually bought tickets), then those who exceed the cutoff limit (75 for Concordia Hall, 25 for the Seve) must wait until the G.P. have secured their seats. So, it’s important to be toward the front of the pass holders line, especially if it’s a film you want/need to see. I’ve yet to be shut out, but it’s been close a couple times. Fingers crossed.