Sunday I got up early for the Complete Amateur Filmmaking Workshop. In 420 minutes, myself and four strangers “wrote”, storyboarded, filmed, and edited a short film we called “The Bench.” We had two mentors who were invaluable in giving pointers on all aspects of our project and instructing us on editing methods. All groups were tasked with making a film showcasing Seattle Center, and all groups came up with original and interesting projects. It was an awesome and inspiring experience.Later that evening I drove myself to Capitol Hill to see Finisterrae at the Harvard Exit. The film consists of two ghosts wandering the countryside with a windsock and a horse, which sometimes was an actual horse and other times was not, on a quest to the end of the earth in hopes of rejoining the living. From what I’ve read, the film was shot without a script and the dialogue was added later. Sometimes this is evident by the incoherence of one shot to the next, but at the same time it seems the filmmaker may have had an underlying vision from the start. The visuals are brilliant, and if one can open one’s mind and accept that this film may not make sense shot-by-shot, I think the overall experience can be a good one. Well, I liked it anyway. Finisterrae is definitely an “art film.”

Aside: I parked north of the Harvard Exit in an area that I haven’t been in since last year’s film festival, and I’d just like to say that if I ever lived in Capitol Hill, this is the part I’d want to live in. It would require a good deal of money though, so don’t expect me to be living there anytime soon.