Ah, post-film festival life. That heady time where you sleep for 22 hours straight, eat a proper meal for the first time in six days, and sort through a million photos you took over the week, many of which you have no recollection of taking. Then, somewhere on the other side of the fog, you remember it's been four days and you still haven't posted a recap of the last day of the festival on the blog. Aw-kward.
Sunday was something of a blur, but I do remember enjoying - and feeling immensely hungry during - our closing night film, "Julie & Julia." Amy Adams is one of my favorite up-and-coming actresses, and if there's a role Meryl Streep (who was spotted in TC last week, incidentally) can't knock out of the park, I haven't heard about it. The flick goes wide tomorrow - check it out if you get the chance.
After the movie, it was on to the Closing Night Party on the Historic Front Lawns at GT Commons. Closing Night is always a fun one, if for nothing else than the tired abandon with which everyone takes to the dance floor, and for the festival awards Michael & Co hand out. Here is the complete list of this year's winners:
It was great to hear everyone's memories of the week, including those of the filmmakers, who couldn't say enough good things about TCFF. Some of the Austin crew even delayed their flights so they could stay in TC a few extra days. And when news came in that we broke 96,000 admissions at this year's festival - 16,000 more than last year - it was the cherry on top of an already spectacular sundae (apologies for the decidedly regional metaphor).
The State was closed this week to prepare it for the transition back to day-to-day operations, but tomorrow we'll open the doors again with our new first-run film, "(500) Days of Summer." Coming off the heels of the best festival we've had to date, I can't wait to get back to the movies.
See you at the show!