PSYCHED over QUENTIN TARANTINO!

Why do I like Quentin Tarantino? Because in his films, the women kick ass…!

When a friend of mine mentioned that Quentin Tarantino was coming to Manila for the 2007 Cinemanila Festival, I immediately scoured the newspapers and the internet for the festival schedule. It was purely by luck that I chanced upon the Cinemanila poster in the UP-CMC Film Department on my way to class last Tuesday and found out that he will be gracing an “open forum” of some sort on August 11, Saturday at Gateway Cinema.

Needless to say, I immediately made plans to go. Yet from the start, circumstances were against me. My biggest problem was that I was recently assigned to graveyard shift with work over the weekends–to watch Quentin, I would have to NOT sleep on Saturday.

Sleep is overrated. THIS WAS QUENTIN!

So, groggy but giddy with excitement, I downed a large cup of strong coffee before heading for Gateway Mall in Cubao. With less than two hours sleep, I literally felt that my head was detached from my body but I was psyched! I was about to meet one of my idols in the flesh!!!

So imagine my desolation when I found out that tickets for this particular “workshop” were already sold out. I can only blame myself for being stupid enough not to reserve tickets beforehand…I completely forgot that I am most probably not the only person who think Quentin’s a genius. I felt like crying. My boyfriend tried to console me but it was no use–I just lost my chance to meet my idol in person. Desolation is not enough to describe how I felt at that moment. If I could only kick myself…

A friend from work convinced me to try and beg from a ticket vendor to sell us a ticket. We were in the middle of a long line when there was a “disturbance” nearby and then I saw him. Quentin was actually walking towards us! (well, not really toward us but headed to the back. We happened to be in the way.) My throat suddenly wouldn’t work and all I could do was stare at him with my mouth open like a stupid idiot. My friend, quite unashamedly, screamed “Quentin! Quentin!” (I swear! She literally SCREAMED his name!) He waved and my friend and I waved back at him (feeling close!); for that, my friend has my eternal gratitude. Because of her screams, my idol actually looked at my direction. It was priceless!

I didn’t get to go in but I was able to see him again on his way back to the cinema. This time, I was ready. I was able to get a couple of really good shots. I was so close to him that I could have reached out and touched him (but I didn’t). Although I regret not being able join the forum and have the chance to actually talk to him, those few glimpses of him made the sleep-deprivation definitely worthwhile. My screaming friend was able to get into the forum (she’s better connected than I am 🙂 ) and I drilled her later on to tell me what happened inside. From what she told me, Quentin was as cool as ever. I would have loved to hear his thoughts and to ask questions personally but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

Two coffees and several hours later, I’m back at the office but still giddy over the experience. I’m already making plans to try and watch some of the films included in the festival. They’re actually showing some of the films that won in the recently concluded Cinemalaya festival (I didn’t get to watch any of the films since CCP is just way too far!). Anyway, for those interested, just visit Cinemanila’s website for the festival schedule. They also have other interesting workshops for screenwriting, cinematography and independent filmmaking. Cinemanila 2007 will run til the 19th of August.