BABNIK has been honored with an invitation to Cinequest. San Jose's marvelous film festival is celebrating its twentieth anniversary! Cinequest 20 starts February 23, 2010 and runs through March 7, 2010.

www.cinequest.org

I’m a big fan of endings. I can forgive many a problematic film that manages to move or provoke me with the ending. I chugged through Chloe in the Afternoon, mildly engaged by the tiny brilliant things only Rohmer can do (Chloe sees all women except the wife as a threat and is constantly testing the protagonist’s attraction to his secretaries, etc.) But the ending tore out my heart and gave it wings. I cried. A lot. (I cry too much.)

Alex is probably way too modest (which I like about him) to post the following link here, but as I happen to think that anyone who visits the Babnik site will find such a link to be quite relevant, I'm going to go ahead and do so myself.

As you'll see, this is the first big chunk of a pretty big interview. We're talking mainly about Canary here, but in the second part of the conversation--which will be posted next week--we talk almost exclusively about Babnik.

Come have a look, and do not hesitate to leave your comments if you feel the urge to do so.

Ok-- I take back everything I said about empowering women...

Borscht is one of my favorite soups. When done right it's really delicious. All the ingredients are critically important to make a fantastic borscht! I feel that the BABNIK movie has all the ingredients to make it perfect! Producers, directors, actors, the crew, the twisted story... Can't wait to eat this deliciously smelling Borscht! Yum!

All roads led to shanty motel in Calistoga where Babnik ballers came for a final showdown. Everyone had their own strategy of survival and get-rich-quick-scheme planned.

Some arrived on taxi, some in black SUVs, some were duck taped and carried into dungeon, yet others camouflaged themselves like snakes.

1260 - that's how many emails are in my Babnik mailbox as of today (October 30th), and early on I deleted at least another hundred before I decided to keep all emails just to see how many would accumulate, all related to this production.

That's what it was like on this action-packed day of production, and lucky me, I got to play the petite FBI agent slinging a gun half my size.

I soon came to realize not only did I have to use it convincingly in my scenes, I had to protect it from being stolen from my fellow cast and crew members who were drooling at the mouth the second Alejandro removed it from the case and asked me if it was too heavy. I wouldn't have cared if it was, I would have done it anyway. I kept reassuring everyone who wanted to help me "hold it" that I am small, but I am mighty. (At least in my own mind.....)

A number of months back I was on a short student film. It was around midnight and I pulled out my ipod and started to watch.

I was surrounded by film students, students who had watched and analyzed all sorts of arty films, were educated in film making, knew the names of directors, writers and the like.

Similar to when I read some of Alex's blogs or interviews, I am thrust into a universe where I pretend to know what it's all about.

So there I am sitting in the corner and a guy comes up to me and asks me what I am watching. Embarassed I say, "Grey's Anatomy."

Some people have passion in food. Others feel that passion is food for the soul. Regardless of how you look at it, working on an indie film is very much the combination of food and passion.

When Alejandro invited me to join them on the set of Babnik, I was more than delighted. But at the same time I couldn't help feel like that neighbor you bring along to a picnic. If you think about it, an indie film can easily take on a very family-like atmosphere. There are rules, there's work and there's play.