Beasts of the Southern Wild - An epic, magical film that has been the buzz of the festival about a girl named Hushpuppy and her courageous attempt to save her family and community in the Louisiana bayou.
Black Rock - I was lucky enough to have been involved in the production of this film (ok, only a little bit, but I'm still repping it hard), and got to attend the premiere here! My friend Katie Aselton directed and starred in this babe-thriller that was incredibly pleasurable to watch.
A Cadeira do Pai - aka "Father's Chair" is a Brazilian film by Luciano Moura about a boy who runs away on a horse named Lightning, and his father's journey to find him.
Safety Not Guaranteed - This feel-good time-traveling film starring Mark Duplass and Aubrey Plaza is incredibly heart-warming, and will leave you rooting for the underdog like never before.
Teddy Bear - This was the final film I saw and it was the perfect ending to the festival. This Danish film directed by Mads Matthiesen is a quiet and sincere portrait of a lovable bodybuilder (played to perfection by non-actor Kim Kold) through his attempts to grow up (at age 38) and find love.
There were so many more films that I would have loved to have seen, and am particularly bummed I didn't see any documentaries, since I tend to love docs more than narratives. The documentaries that looked most interesting were Queen of Versailles, About Face, and Detropia - but I'd say this was a pretty full week of movie-watching!
