Kinky Hump Day

aka

Getting the kinks out on a Wednesday

So, here I am at Hotel Santa Barbara on 533 State Street, also known as the HUB of the film fest. Whataya need? We’ve got it here. Although not today! Well, not yet anyway, we’re still working out the kinks. An annual realization that, despite all attempts of organization, coordination, and conversation, keeps us grounded with the reality that we’re not above Murphy’s Law rearing its ugly head.

Working in the press office means being able to get sh%#! done while coordinating in organized chaos and although it might not look like it from the outside, those on the inside work hard, work long hours and work together pretty well. One way we manage the long hours and endure the seemingly never-ending-schedule of activity is with a relentless sense of humor. A lively bunch calling all corners of the US home, we come together as a family year after year. In a nutshell we’re thoughtful, yet thick skinned, understanding yet direct and above all, hilarious. A decent example of festival humor took shape this afternoon after we received an unsolicited suggestion from an “outsider.” As if we’d not thought if it ourselves? What?! With very little discussion, it was decided that a suggestion box was in order and so a staff member took matters into her own hands and made a sign; Press Office Suggestion Box … and then promptly placed it on the garbage can.

Supplies were late in coming today, but that’s a given no matter how hard we try to make it otherwise and if the festival is anything like the theater, a sloppy dress rehearsal will prove to be a smooth festival. As you’d expect the press office is in charge of press credentials, coordinating the press with filmmakers and festival events. The first few days are busy with a breakneck pace often being the norm. Its not until well into the festival that some of us even take our first breath. An adrenaline rush for sure, but I’m no spring chicken and after a decade, I keep asking myself why? But there’s something so infectious about being in the middle of so much art, so much exciting energy, so much inspiration that I just can’t say no and with a year to recover, I often forget how much sleep deprivation it takes to get through these eleven incredible, amazing, exciting days.