Jumping The Candlestick: Michigander Monday: Jennifer Sowle

Jumping The Candlestick: Michigander Monday: Jennifer Sowle: I'm pleased to welcome Jennifer Sowle to Michigander Monday! Debbie :  Jennifer, please tell us a little about yourself. Jennifer :...

IT'S A WRAP!

Jennifer and Doreen at the Filmmaker's Party

I last posted on Saturday, and now it's Tuesday.   My mind temporarily (I hope) shut down before it permanently seized up from TCFF overload.  So now the 10th Anniversary TCFF is over, but I'd still like to share the final highlights of Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday all four of us were able to get a spot for lunch on the rooftop deck of The Franklin. Bay breezes and lots of sun.  Then we saw the Meet the Patels at the State.  Then on to the US Premier of Life of Crime with Jennifer Aniston and Tim Robbins, based on the novel, Switch, by Elmore Leonard, the Detroit novelist and short-story writer. It was a bittersweet moment because Elmore Leonard, who was scheduled to appear, passed away last August without seeing the final cut. Writer/director Danial Schechter was there for the Q and A.  Honestly, I probably wouldn't have seen a movie starring Jennifer Aniston, but she was pretty good in this.

As you know, I won tickets to the Filmmakers Party.  We had a bountiful feast from our local restaurants and the wine and alcoholic beverages flowed.  Maybe that's why we look so happy.

The Patels with their award

Awards were given out at the Filmmakers Party.  It was amazing to see winners so happy and excited.  Winners and losers alike were there to celebrate!   Meet the Patels won for the best documentary. We saw it Saturday after we'd named our choices.  But this doc is authentically funny, a rare thing these days. Four stars.

Chaz Ebert

Actually, all the docs we saw were exceptional. On Sunday, we saw the documentary about Roger Ebert, Life Itself.  Very moving and inspiring. Roger Ebert's wife of 20 years, Chaz Ebert, was there to introduce the film. She also attended the Filmmakers Party.

After that, I went to a Film School Session on writing Adaptations.  I'm trying to get the juices flowing to write the screenplay for Admissions.  I learned a lot, met the instructor, Leslie Tye, head of Interlochen's screenwriting program.  We made arrangements to meet after the TCFF to discuss the screenplay.  Time to shift gears.

Thanks to all of you for following me or reading my posts.  I've had close to six thousand views during the TCFF.  I'm taking a break now, but I might be back.

The German Doctor Visits the Congo with his husband Claude who commits suicide.

Well, here we are again; and this time we're talkin' films.  We were able to slow down long enough to have dinner last night at Bistro FouFou.  We've seen some fabulous films already, so we decided to declare our favorites so far, both documentary and feature films.


DOCUMENTARY
Sorry I missed Virunga about the national park in the Congo.  The mountain gorillas need protection during the conflict there. Colleen and Mike voted this film their favorite. We all loved Running from Crazy, the story of Mariel Hemingway and her family legacy of mental illness. I chose it as my favorite documentary. The filmmaker, Barbara Kopple was there to received the TCFF Mid-Life Achievement Award for her work.  It was hard to choose between that and The Case Against Eight, the five-year legal battle for marriage equality.  Doreen chose this as her favorite.  We have more docs to see, but so far they've been exceptional!

FEATURE:
Colleen and Mike sponsored a winner in The German Doctor. a chilling account of Nazi war criminal, Josef Mengele (the angel of death), set in a German community in Patagonia in l960.  Mengele was in hiding, but still up to no good.  We all voted this our favorite movie so far.

So True!

In case this line-up seems a bit bleak, we always mix 'em up. Comedies, drama, docs, only one we didn't really like so much.
We have three movies today, lunch, hopefully on the roof-top deck of the Franklin to people watch.  This is a good time to mention Traverse City has rolled out the red carpet with absolutely beautiful weather each and every day!

Since I actually won (which I never do) complimentary tickets to the Filmmaker's Party tonight, we'll wrap up our Saturday with a party. We leave the house at 9:00 am and will be draggin' home late full of excellent food and probably a glass of wine--or two.

We have a winner!

Hey

Ozzy Here . . . 

I can't help but smile!  My mom was just announced as the winner of the  Grand Traverse Resort Ultimate TCFF Movie Fan Contest. She got two tickets to the Filmmaker's Party on Saturday! Wayda go, mom!

I believe in omens.  I think my mom's screenplay of Admissions will be made into a movie.  Get it-- Filmmaker.  Groovy.  LA here I come.

Let the Movies Roll!

One, two, three . . . ah . . five, er. . . four

 Hey.  Ozzy Here . . .

I'm downtown in front of the State Theatre.  The film festival started last night, and I'm trying to report to you how many extra people are in town.  My mom said give it up--there are too many for me to count.  Whew, where's that water bowl?

I'm finding out that the dogs must be somewhere else.  There are a few on the street, but come to think about it, their parents are probably in watching a movie.  And guess what?  DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED in the Theatre (except if a celebrity wants to brings their dog on stage).  I asked my mom if she was a celebrity, and she said "Fat Chance."  I'll have to check some videos from the Library, they're free after the Festival.

left to right, Colleen, Doreen, Jennifer, Mike

My mom is in high gear now.  She's officially starting her movie watching whirlwind with her peeps.  Don't they look like  happy bunch?  I'm taking up the slack while they're taking in a lot of films, eating out, and enjoying themselves.  I'll be in Doggie Daycare some of the time which I love cuz I love Joan and Sam at Happy Tails.  And I have a good thing going with Brody (bromance), and another one with Lucy.  Don't worry, I'll keep you posted on all the exciting news here at the TCFF.

Ozzy here. . . Is this fair?

Ozzy abandoned outside the Bijou by the Bay

Hey, Ozzy here--

My mom went to the Founders Party to volunteer yesterday and she didn't take me with her.  I don't want to sound bitter, but she had some lame excuse about dogs not being allowed. I have to admit I was happy to see her when she got back, but I smelled BACON on her breath!

She was all excited, telling me about how she got to greet everyone and put armbands on them.  She told me she had trouble with the armbands (her own thumb kept sticking to the end when she tried to put it on somebody).  She told me she stuck the wrong end on a couple of hairy guys and had to rip it off their arm fur.  Ouch!  Don't expect me to laugh.

See how upset I was, notice how I'm looking around for my mom?  I'm right outside the Bijou by the Bay, and that damn party is right behind it in a big white tent with smells wafting by. (Okay, I wasn't really there yesterday, but you get my point).  My mom told me if I didn't stop making things up to support my case, she's cutting me off the computer.

Jennifer wearing her lanyard to volunteer

Here's my mom all happy to be leaving me behind as she races off to her first volunteer shift, The Founders Party at Clinch Park.  She told me she greeted many nice people and even the guys she tortured with the sticky armband laughed about it.

Susan lining up glasses

This is the table where my mom greeted people.  Here, they're arranging the glasses and getting ready.  Mom said this woman, Susan, was very helpful and made her feel right at home.  I'm starting to come to my senses up about this when I see the pictures. I guess my mom had a good time and that's all we dogs are supposed to care about.

Ozzy pretending he's a film sponsor for Dogs and Cats

My mom's the greatest! Maybe I didn't get to hear Miriam Pico sing, or Michael Moore talk about the good ol' days, or get Dean Robb to shake, or have that BACON;  but my mom let me put on an armband to see what it feels like. I didn't do anything special like the founders and sponsors did, but I still get to wear a pawband.  Yoo-hoo!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Picked up my volunteer credentials yesterday.  I think they restarted the old wind turbine west of town and channeled that energy right into the Lake Room of the Park Place Hotel.  There's nothing like a room full of excited volunteers ready to go forth and conquer!

OZ  does look pretty fine!

OZ:  Er . . . excuse me, OZZY here.  Ah . . . Can I model the T-shirt?

J: I have one of the volunteers modeling the T-shirt, OZ. The shirts are for the volunteers.

OZ: I'm a volunteer (whimper, whine).

J: Ok, go ahead, get it on, and I'll take your picture.
Hummm, not bad.

OZ: Told you so.  I'm what they call a stud muffin, emphasis on the muffin.


I talked to three volunteers on Friday who were also picking up their stuff at the Park Place.

I talked to Carolyn Wilson first.  She's a five year veteran. She and her husband, Adam, met in movie circles around town.  They both love movies and that was the beginning of their romance.  For their first date, Carolyn and Adam went to the State Theatre to see Son of Rambow, 2007 (a Sundance and Toronto FF winner). Darn, I missed this one first time around.  Carolyn gives it a thumbs up!

Carolyn says the best thing about being a volunteer is meeting and working with people of like mind, folks who love movies!  She's been surfing the TCFF website building on her excitement for next week. I tell  you this girl is pumped up!

My second victim was Clark Etterman from Lake City.  Clark, like Carolyn, was shy about getting his picture taken, but it didn't take him long to start chatting about volunteering for the TCFF.  Clark drove over from Lake City to "wing it" at the volunteer site.  Lo and behold, he got one of the Information Ambassador positions (I'm jealous).  He wasn't complaining, but that means he'll have to drive over again for a training session soon.

Clark, who happens to be a Vietnam Vet, says he has met many new acquaintances and friends through volunteering.  He is one of those give-back people who likes to volunteer for other things as well.  For the TCFF he is willing to drive an hour each way.  He'll be over here several times during the next week, and he's looking forward to it!

Clark has a State Theatre story also.  In l960, he and his high school buddy drove to TC from Lake City to see Porgy and Bess. The area was mostly fields and open spaces then.  Heads up, TCFF, Clark would like to see Porgy and Bess at the State again.

My third chat was with Stephanie Wilkins, and thank the goddess of visual images, she wasn't afraid to have her picture taken.  She and Ozzy might end up in a T-shirt competition. Stephanie is a newbie at the TCFF.  She just recently moved here from Key West where she taught sailing for eight years. Now she's teaching sailing with TACS on Boardman Lake.

Stephanie is jumping right into the TCFF with both feet.  She's signed up for three volunteer gigs, Bus Ambassador, Filmmaker's Party, and Opera House venue.  On top of that she's one of the videographers for the TCFF.

Stephanie says she's here to learn.  She wants to immerse herself in the experience of the Film Festival and come out changed.  It appears she's at the start of a life transition.  She's always loved photography, writing and film.  She's following a new path, whether it's acting, directing, or becoming a filmmaker.  Stephanie has simplified her life, freeing her up to follow her dreams.

Thanks, Carolyn, Clark, and Stephanie for making my day!