Sundance - Pre-Stir

Dear JML

Tomorrow morning I am heading out to Park City, Utah for Sundance Film Festival. Much excitement is in the air. The mild winter here, - it has been raining all day yesterday and it is January! - it will be no longer. I am ready to experience some tough cold.

I have often mentioned to you that I plan on going back to Utah in winter. It is during this cold season you see more liveliness and vigor around you. You would think that people will stay home, sit around TV, and watch old movies. No! They get ready to leave their house, put their scarves around their necks, tie their shoes, and finish their last cup of hot tea. Then they walk out the door, close it behind them, and breathe in the fresh cold air.

You ask me why I go out there, out in the cold, out of nowhere. You only have to go there yourself. It is the people, the crowd, the old and the young, knowing no retreat into the comfort of their homes. The winter spent with the crowd watching movies together is more jovial and amialbe than waiting for a subway everyday for work.

I am glad I got the job at Sundance this year. I had forgotten about it altogether. Then one day my phone rang. I was invited! After few emails and conversations with my supervisors now I can fly out to Utah. Last year, I walked around Park City like a fool, a wonderer. Now the festival is no longer just a destination. It will be my home for the next three weeks.

I will write to you often. Perhaps, we can go there together if I can convince you to come. Even if you decide not to - as I am quite certain at this point - I will try my best to share the spirit of the festival.

-AL