It’s Friday and 10 days into the festival and I realized I have not reported much on the films here. They screen films here, some are good, some are bad, and some you just don’t know what the hell they are about and how did they get into a festival. Enough about the films, last night was the SAGIndie Student Party and we had a hell of a good time!! Thanks Paul!! Armand prepared a beautiful spread of appetizers and decorated the apartment beautifully. Pizza from our neighborhood pizzeria was quickly eaten and then the serious drinking began. Beer and wine flowed freely and then it happen!! Someone opened the bottle of Grappa and poured!! That is when all hell broke loose and the dancing began. The dancing led to singing and while I did not have a Karaoke show down with Sophia Loren, we did manage to have a sing off with three very lovely Italian women from across the canal. 
They would sing some lovely Italian ballad to which we would very loudly respond with "I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL!!!" or some other equally obnoxious and loud song. People in boats floated by and stopped to see what the crazy Americans were up to!! Then when Lindsey, and David, and Merril, and Stanley, and Anne, and Justin, and Ethan, and Emilio showed up it became a real SAGIndie party. OK they may not have actually showed up but with the Grappa flowing we all thought we saw them in room! It was a great party and with the exception of "the accident" everyone survived!!
Just kidding, there was really no accident and everyone showed up for breakfast this morning, looking like crap, but alive and well, ready to view more films, this is a film festival after all, and we are all filmmakers, we do watch films you know!!
Walter Harris – Director Student Programs – The American Pavilion.