Graduation Screening

(Original post date: May 12th, 2011)

Less than 3 days ago, the graduating SFU film class of 2011 debuted 16 short films to the public. These short films are what we’ve been working on for the past year, and essentially they are the culmination of our training for the past four years.

Nerves were more at play than excitement. Indeed it is incredible to see a packed theatre with people eager to see our work. What would be more incredible is if I saw more familiar faces; face that I’d recognize. Sure, I’m disappointed that not more people came to show their support. And when it comes to these “artsy” things, I’m not one to convince people to come. I believe that if one truly wants to see my work, I wouldn’t have to waste my breath or use my words to persuade them to come. The only thing I would really need to do is to tell them about the event in detail beforehand.

Anyway, when it came time to the screenings, I wasn’t at all nervous. Nor excited. I had seen the film so many times that it’s starting to lose its punch. And the people who I wanted so very badly to come see it wasn’t there, so there was nothing to be nervous about. I was confident enough (in my work) to be able to strut around the venue without being a wreck, though there were definitely last-minute bustling around. Overall the crowd reacted well to the film -there were lots of praises!- and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Thanks for those who spared time in their evening to check out what we’ve been labouring towards. Much love and gratitude in making this a pleasant experience. As for those who didn’t make it… well, I don’t know what I can say to you. But I don’t blame you. Getting people to come out to see “art” is hard enough as it is, let alone put you through 4 hours of it… Then again, the loss is yours for not having been enriched by our creativity :P