SDAFF 2010: Blurring Reality

Tonight was a full house. Every screening in every theater was packed. And it’s Wednesday. What a crazy night. ANIMATION: ILLUSION OF LIFE was awesome. SDAFF is the only festival in San Diego that is screening stuff in 1080p HD. I honestly couldn’t tell you what that means other than it’s 1080 pixels in high definition, but I can tell you that it looks freakin’ AMAZING! Seriously, the program was SO vibrant and crisp, I had to remind myself to blink. And even though the program sort of froze up near the end, I didn’t even care. I was completely blown away by the graphics of the still picture it was frozen on. I really looked at everything and was like, WOW. You really appreciate the animation so much more when you see it as a still.
MEI LING looked so kick ass. I had originally watched it on my laptop, which is 3 years old and NOT HD, so when I saw it on the big screen, there was so much more I noticed and really appreciated. It definitely added a lot more depth for me because I saw a lot of details I missed the first time.
THE WONDER HOSPITAL was such a trip, especially the ending with the mirror. So crazy. I love how there were so many allusions to classical works like THE WIZARD OF OZ (the yellow brick road and the red shoes) and ALICE IN WONDERLAND (the white rabbit). Such a trip. I don’t know much about the technicalities of the film, but for all the layers of symbolisms, allusions, and themes, it’s not hard to see why this took the Jury’s award for Best Animation. Such a trip.
MOM was an absolute delight—the graphics, the sharpness of the picture, so amazing!!! I cannot believe or begin to describe to you the awesomeness of the visual appeal. Best eye candy ever!
AMAZONIA was super pretty, especially with all that color and how bright the whole film was. I’m so glad we screened this program in HD. You have no idea.
I also enjoyed RIVER IN HEAVEN, especially the style of the artwork. And I liked that the boy’s stuffed animal was a rabbit and not a bear. I think it added a little flair to the overall story.
ODE TO A POST-IT NOTE was so cute. Loved it.
Ugh, this program was so freaking AMAZING! Go see it during it’s encore screening tomorrow at 4:30pm. Get your ticket ASAP and get there early! It’s so worth it.
When I got home tonight, I was looking at my name tag and for the first time realized my name was spelled wrong! Someone completely changed my identity! Why would anyone do that? On my SDAFF badge? Geez. No wonder this reality feels so different!