Miscellany: VIFF, publications, etc

Some stuff:

I will not be taking the Greyhound to the Holy Modal Rounders reunion. I wish I could be there, but it is just not feasible. I tend to get motion sick, so spending $100 on a loooooong busride, when I'm broke and rundown as it is, just doesn't seem wise.

The current Skinny has VIFF reviews and my Tom Holliston interview.

The new Xtra West has articles by me on the Kathy Acker and Arthur Russell docs in the VIFF.

The new Razorcake (#46) has what will likely be my final piece for that publication, on the New Model Army, a band I have long enjoyed. I greatly enjoyed talking to Justin - mostly about religion!

The films I'm really excited about seeing in the next couple of weeks are James Benning's RR and Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy (pictured above). Two of my most valued film experiences at the VIFF have been works by Benning (13 Lakes) and Reichardt (Old Joy), and though they're very different filmmakers, anyone who likes quiet, image-rich cinema will likely find both of these films highly rewarding.

On a very different note, as a horror buff, I'm looking forward to [REC], a Spanish film with an upcoming English language remake, Quarantine.

Family issues will keep me from seeing a vast number of films this year, but it's just as well - one tends to get a bit burned out, seeing movies all day. I will have at least one other big article on a VIFF feature here, but otherwise, the reviews in the two issues of The Skinny and the review and interview in Xtra West are about all people can count on seeing from me this year... My holiday is more than half-over and there's lots else I must do...