tara goes to the big city

okay, i know halifax is on the small side of citydom, but it's big in my simple countrified peaceful world nonetheless. it is a daunting prospect for me to spend a week in any city. i chose to drive, so that if the need arose i could escape at my bidding. that need nearly arose on the first night, when stoopidly i donned my old work shoes from the agency days, uncomfortably walked into town from my host's abode. within twenty minutes i could feel the blisters starting. i was late for registration and nearly didn't get my delegate pass to see any movies that night. missing the beginnings of all the screenings, three infact before i was clued in that the problem might be my timepeice and not poor organization on the festivals behalf. then it started to rain. did i say rain? i mean the skies opened up and the atlantic fell through. it poured like a mother! umbrella-less and blistered and too cheap to hail a cab i walked back in sad-sack fashion to the bus stop and made my way back. i nearly hopped in the car and came straight home, but with such a wicked storm i thought i should wait until morning to leave... but instead, i put on some slippers, reset my wristwatch and spent the rest of the week unfashionably comfortable and on time.

if all my compaining hasn't put you off too much and you're still reading, here's the rest of my week.

since i was visiting family in bc, i missed the first half of the festival which included both screenings of my animation - i made up for it as best as possible by trying to see all the remaining shorts and animations, and getting the chance to privately screen many of the ones i missed... thanks to ivy and meghan.

my favorites included walk for walk, milton is a shitbag, at the quinte hotel, a couple of nifty super-8 films and a cool documentary about bernie worrell.

i only attended screenings for two features, both quite different from each other and both quite enjoyable... commune, a compelling documentary on the people and history of black bear ranch in california - free land for free people - in perpetuity, sounds good eh? and the league of gentlemen's apocalypse, a bbc series gone hilariously apeshit... very bizarre.

some other highlights of the visit included getting to play a couple of rounds of roulette at the casino and winning some small time cash on 36 black... and knowing when to walk away, walk don't run.

getting to see some of the local bars my musical pals play at from time to time, and see some of the local talent therein.

tons of free beer. always a good thing.

meeting many people from halifax and beyond, especially norwood cheek, a super super-8 dude from that superpower to the south, who gave me some super advise on diy transfers (and who may or may not be a mekons fan). of course being such a novice in the social realms it was a struggle for me to try and have a conversation with most people... but a few folks made it very easy.

i found the city of halifax to be quite welcoming in the end thanks to the aff staff and volunteers, and of course my lovely host annette. oh and the buses rock!