Just Another Day in the Capital City - NOT

"Why are you actin' like you know where you're goin'?" was a wife's sassy remark to her husband this morning as thousands of completely lost but thoroughly determined travelers, like myself, tried to find their way to The National Mall to watch the inauguration.

And NONE of us knew where we were going. No matter how much we thought we did.

Volunteers in red beanies were our only beacons of hope, holding signs that said "Mall this way" - and they were surprisingly upbeat. But that was a recurring theme at the disgusting hour of 6:30 a.m. At the time I would regularly be grumpy and non-verbal, everyone was upbeat and excited - and it spilled over. There was so much energy in the air that I couldn't help but let the anticipation slowly melt away the fact that I had woken up far too early and not gotten any caffeine.

It was all worth it. Once the initial "grumps" were over, I realized I was experiencing a once in a lifetime opportunity. So were hundreds of thousands of other people. But it became fun instead of dreaded.

I really blame the hot chocolate kid for making my grumpiness disappear. As my group and I were walking down Maryland Ave., we passed a young teen boy selling hot chocolate in front of his house. I was so highly impressed by this level of entrepreneurship and enterprise that this young guy had, I couldn't help but see hope for the future of the country. Apparently, that's all I needed.

Although, actually purchasing a cup of the hot chocolate might have helped even more.

But it turns out I didn't need too much help. Between trampling all the foliage in the greater DC area and trying to find a "Hello my fellow American, my name is..." nametag with Obama's face on it, I didn't have time to be grumpy or irritable. There was patriotism and a turning of the tide in the air!

I'm going to make the assumption that you watched the inauguration, or at least have seen a little bit about it. If you haven't, I would recommend getting on that ASAP. It was pretty cool.

There was even cooler stuff that went on in the crowds. Around 8 a.m., they played the video footage for the poor freezing people (like myself) from the concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial that happened on Sunday. This resulted in full crowd sing-a-longs to "Shout" by the Temptations and "American Pie." You haven't sung "American Pie" until you're belting it with hundreds of thousands of your fellow Americans.

It was also extremely exciting to find myself smashed between people that were literally touching me in every direction possible. You can't get that experience while watching the inauguration in your living room. The lady behind me kept pulling my hair. I have no idea how this was happening - it just meant that she was way closer than she should have been in a normal circumstance. And if anyone in the middle ever needed to go to the bathroom, they fought their way out, parting people like they were parting the Red Sea. Not an easy task on either side, believe me. And it occurred only too often. I became very friendly with the people around me.

And these people were electrified! I heard a number thrown around that nearly 92 percent of Washington, D.C. voted for Barack Obama. That makes this one very happy city, and that doesn't even include the numbers of people who traveled from outside of Washington, D.C. to be there for this historic day. Everyone there genuinely wanted to be there and they were happy with what was happening. A little too happy, considering the amount of "boo"s that Bush got every time his face was on the Jumbotron.

But my favorite moment had to have been at the end of Rick Warren's absolutely beautiful and fitting prayer, when he began to say the Lord's Prayer. To my absolute shock and wonder, people all around me began to join in with his prayer, saying the words perfectly. I joined in myself. And we, representing the nation, lifted the Obama family up to the Lord in the way that we are supposed to pray - the way we were taught to pray. It was breathtaking. I hadn't expected so much religion and spirituality to be present among the people of this celebration.

So apparently, religion is still very relevant, wouldn't you say?

Dan's Dream

Dan Parris, a Biola grad has big dreams. He wants to make a documentary about him and a friend who plan to go to Africa and live on a dollar a day. He is passionate, and believes in the story. He is here at Sundance, trying to raise 10,000 dollars to make it happen. Dan puts his cards all over the place and passionately seeks conversations with anyone and everyone. At the “Meet the Funders” which I attended, Dan may have made the connection he needed.
He gave his pitch, and after finishing, the woman at his table told him with a pointed finger to stay after and talk to him. This kind of thing didn’t happen at any other tables the whole day. He told woman afterwards what he needed, and she gave him three phone numbers of people she said would help him. It’s a huge breakthrough, and he is elated.
“I feel like sometimes when its crunch time, your mind starts going, you speak eloquently, and its not even you.,” Dan said after the experience was over. “My mouth was running separate from my mind.”
Dan felt like God was with him in the experience, and guided his words.
“Let yourself be passionate, people are attracted to it,” he said.
Dreams slowly realized in the snowy hills of Park City. Just another day at Sundance.

Meet the Funders

So I just left a round table meeting with representatives from PBS and Sundance, where I pitched my documentary about recovering sex offenders. It was the most real film situation I have ever experienced, and it was exhilarating. Josiah pitched the story as well, and both of us got very positive feedback. But just the experience of sitting around a table and hearing everyone’s brilliant story ideas was so inspiring. I have never felt more comfortable with speaking about myself and my projects in my life, and I love it.
I didn’t make a deal or anything, far from it really, but the experience alone inspires me to be a part of documentary filmmaking. I have always wondered what my place is in the film world; this seemed to show me a direction like I’d never seen before.
So it goes at Sundance.

Unexpected

Sundance is best experienced when you embrace the unexpected. The best-unexpected moment thus far - Damien Rice. I had no idea he would be here, but the music café on Main St. is known to bring in some big names. And this year, it certainly delivered.
As the sun went down and the air got significantly colder, (thank God I wore double wool socks) hundreds of people packed into a tent at the bottom of the Main St. hill. I sat outside for 45 cold minutes, not able to visibly catch the first few songs. But the line pushed in and I experienced Rice in all his glory. It was just him and his guitar, but he had little trouble filling the space with passion and intensity. He played mostly songs from his early record, (which I was happy about) and told funny anecdotes in between. It was charming.
But his closing song is what will stick with me for a long while. Beginning with a heartfelt rendition of his own Cold Water, Rice flowed into a cover of Hallelujah. He slowed it down and belted out the first three verses of the Buckley tune, in a moving fashion. It was inspirational and borderline spiritual, especially when the whole audience joined into the chorus of Hallelujah. I closed my eyes, in a beautiful unison of voices, and smiled. Unexpected, overjoyed.
So it goes at Sundance.

Second Sundance showing

Second film, "Adam." A beautiful narrative about a man with Asbergers disorder. It’s a love story, but sensitive to the condition. Maybe its indie cliché to have a mentally challenged main character, but this film pulled it off. There was smart humor, raw emotion, and relatable love. The credits rolled and I was left wanting more. The actor playing Adam (Hugh Dancey) was terribly believable, and honestly, cute. I bought it from his first second on screen.

Two successful films seen.

The next film is not until tomorrow night, "500 days of summer." Zoeey Deshcanel in a leading role... yeah. I’m not ... that excited ...
Lies lies lies.

The Buzz

There is this phenomenon called the Sundance Buzz. It’s a beautiful thing. See, because the bus system is used by everyone at the festival, including big wigs (Tarantino) and nobodies (me), talk of the best and worst films spreads like wildfire. No matter what you come wanting to see, you will know whether or not to look forward to seeing it pretty quick. The film you thought you’d hate, you’ll hear is a can’t miss, while the one you were pining for turns out a real fart. It can be very frustrating. Sometimes you are stuck with a film that plain sucks.

So far I haven’t heard of any loser tickets in my possession, but I hear there are a few that I can’t see that are supposedly life-changing.
So it goes in Sundance.

SUNDANCE BEGINS!

Park City, Utah. It's winter, finally. But the snow that sits has been here for a few weeks, nothing fresh on the floor. The air is warm, and the films are hot.
Honestly, I can't believe I'm here again. Its overwhelming, all the emotions. I just can't wait to see films.
First film down, “The Missing Person,” a modern film noir. A great main character carried the movie. The story left me with something but I’m not sure what just yet. I especially loved the emotion of a scene toward the end of the film that lacked dialogue, merely showing the main character struggling through his own twisted thoughts while listening to a dirty jazz sax solo. It was moving.

There are already great conversations on the bus and in line. I met a funder from Japan who got a big promotion for picking up Blair Witch Project for dirt cheap back in the day. She feels the heat now, looking for the next big break. Also met an intern for the Sundance Institute held a great conversation on the way to a film. She loved to hear about my interests and goals, and loved to talk film.
Ambitions long dormant for me come flooding back to the surface. So many projects, careers, lives, on the verge of being made or lost here. It's inspiration, it’s exciting and it's unpredictable.

So good to be back.