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Hi Everyone. I've just completed my first full day at
the Austin Film
Festival. And: here is what's so great about volunteering.
It gives
you an air of authority and the official freedom to cross boundaries.
Likewise, I'm not feeling pressured to get my two-minute "pitch" in during
the close of presentations and panels, or while standing in line at the
buffet table. I also don't feel like I'm missing out on the major bar-hopping
that's going on--oh, right about now--because I know there's
another few
nights of that coming up, and...I'm volunteering...so....I'm going to be
around...and if I don't meet Famous Director at the bar, I'll cross paths
with him eventually. I'm a volunteer! I have
access to the Office. I have
made friends in the Office. I have shown myself to be trustworthy via
the ability to both initiate and complete vital tasks.
I have four days. I
do not have to join the rush to the podium.
Austin. A city of
gentlemen. Who dress well. Actually, everyone dresses well here. But it is
REALLY nice to see REALLY nicely-dressed men. And they are very polite.
They not only open doors for you, but they smile when they do it too!
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This
gentility started at the airport and continues on to the fellow
film-makers
who are present at the festival. At baggage claim I registered
a look from a young man who was dressed like he was ready for a time-warp to
the Lindy Hop
era. Add some gangsta hairdo and a set of teeth...and it
first glance you wonder if you are going to be safe, even with armed National
Guards nearby (and yes, in the Austin airport these guys are ARMED, with
BIG black guns, the kind that go from their shoulders all the way down
past their knees...) The next thing I know, Lindy Man is calling out that
I've dropped my sweater...and there he is, bending over to pick it up and
hand it to me with a smile. And I'm registering what I thought I saw the
first time; yes, big smile, capped eye teeth. Pointed. Sterling silver.
Yup:
fangs. Welcome to Austin!
My first shift yesterday involved
counting t-shirts and being a generally available gopher. It was lots
of fun. The office fields a phone call from some irate prima donna with
male PMS who wants to know why he wasn't called to manage one of the
theatres. They tell him he didn't sign up in time and it can't
obviously be done now at the last minute, but he could help
by
volunteering if he still wants to be involved? He responds with, "No, I
don't do bitch work!!" |
Really. Well buddy guess what?--no one wants to
get to know you now, so good luck with your networking.
This morning
I was at the registration desk. Yes: I was hoping Famous Directors would be
angelically placed in front of me at the right time. This didn't
happen.
Instead, a whole morning of this gave me names and faces of people I could
chat with later, like "Hi!I checked you in this morning! How are you
doing?
Which presentation are you coming from? Was it good? What are you
working on?" Pretty helpful when you don't know anybody outside of pressured
office workers and fellow volunteers!
I met several of the screenplay
competition finalists this way. There's a reading room with copies of
their scripts! This is open only to upper-level pass
holders, but I was
able to stroll in and page through at least one script during a break in
shifts. I intend to take full advantage of this during the next
four
days.
I'm writing this late at night. There were a couple
of serendipitous moments that I'll chronicle in the next posting. The
panelists make it very clear several
times each that this is the one film
festival specifically FOR screenwriters; every one is willing and happy to
be here, and the business of the day is the permission to talk about your
script endlessly if you wish.
And you are met with a
smile!
cheers--Hilary
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