Short Update on the films I saw during Palm Springs 2012

I'm going to come back over the next week or two and write at least something about about each of the films I've seen at this year's Palm Springs International Film Festival. But for now, the night before my final partial day (where I may only see one film if that) I wanted to catalog what I'd seen. And call out some of the best things in case it's helpful for folks attending the festival in the second half (especially in the Monday best of fest event).

The recap of all the films I saw pre-festival is in an earlier post. Some of my favorites from before PSIFF started include Sound of My Voice, Headhunters, The Sandman, Elite Squad II, Pariah, and Bullhead.

From the films I saw during the festival the strongest recommendations I have (in order) go to Declaration of War, A Separation, Las Acacias. Don't dare miss any of these when the opportunity presents itself. Additional things I sort of dug at an elevated level are Tatsumi, Turn Me On, Dammit! and Attenberg. With a special call out of Piña which is an absolute must see (and in 3D) if you love dance. I do not, hence the caveat.

Actually, almost everything I saw was at least worth a watch for one reason or another. With the notable exception of Thin Ice which I couldn't even bring myself to watch the second half of. I also had really mixed feelings about Let My People Go. In what's supposed to be a comedy I rarely laughed. But the concept of a Passover based home for the holidays picture mashed up with a gay comedy of errors (in French) made me want to love it. Sadly, I just couldn't. Though the concept of a Golda Meir themed aerobics study did make me chuckle.

If anyone is interested in a digital copy of the big thick festival catalog they've got it online now for free.

I end with a list of the films I saw (as of Tuesday night) in order. Before I go I want to throw out another big thank you to all the staff and volunteers that really make the festival work. Without your patience, savvy and perseverance this thing would have been sheer anarchy. While I met plenty of grumpy attendees (this is Palm Springs after all) I did not meet a single staffer or volunteer that wasn't friendly, helpful and super professional.

1. Gypsy (Slovakia)
2. Back to Your Arms (Lithuania)
3. P-047 (Thailand)
4. Turn Me on Dammit! (Norway)
5. Declaration of War (France)
6. Omar killed me (Morocco)
7. Piña (Germany)
8. Miss Balla (Mexico)
9. Tatsumi (Singapore)
10. Footnote (Israel)
11. Let My People Go (France)
12. We Need to Talk About Kevin (UK)
13. Attenberg (Greece)
14. Happy Happy (Norway)
15. A Separation (Iran)
16. Goodbye First Love (France)
17. Terraferma (Italy)
18. Thin Ice (US) (first half only and that was more than enough for me)
19. Las Acacias (Argentina)
20. The Student (Argentina)

One other additional non-movie thing I did do was attend the "Awards Buzz Cocktail Party" thanks to the generosity of my new film festival friend Tim of Ottawa's festival. He was nice enough to invite me along. I was a bit too tired to take full advantage of the mingling opportunities - but I did get a chance to catchup with some folks, including SIFF's own Carl Spence. Though technically Carl has a pretty big role in Palm Springs as well. Not to mention picking up this handy dandy guide to all the Foreign Language Oscar submissions that appeared during PSIFF 2012. The fact that it coincidentally was in the lobby of my hotel made it all the more convenient.