September

September flew by.

Which is why I am writing a September update in October. I had difficulty finding time to blog about docs in between all of my actual doc adventures!

I finally finished my short doc - came down to the wire on that one, but I completed it and am fairly pleased with the results. Speaking of wire, check out the mesmerizing documentary Man on Wire now out on DVD. It's the wild tale of an eccentric Frenchmen's tightrope walk between NYC's Twin Towers in 1974, and now an Oscar-winning doc at that.

I volunteered on National Service Day, completely by accident. Volunteering is good - even the President thinks so. I moderated a documentary film screening and discussion of Valentino: The Last Emperor at the local senior center in town, not even realizing it was a national day of service. I love this doc - it is such a visually rich and stylized look at the final chapter of the iconic fashion designer's career and dynamic life with his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti. Plus there are pugs. A great effort by Matt Tyrnauer of Vanity Fair, and a good time was had by all.

I attended the terrific new Westdoc conference - I got to soak up the wonderful world of documentaries and meet many faces in this exciting arena. Yay!

I stumbled into a new year, and celebrated in part by screening The September Issue, RJ Cutler's behind-the-scenes look at the world of Anna Wintour and Vogue. Delicious!

I did a jig over to my local theatre's Irish Film Festival, and screened a few doc shorts - The Boys of St. Columb's, about the school that advanced some of Ireland's most famous sons in modern culture, and Raise The Last Glass, which follows the closing of the country's legendary Waterford crystal factory.

Finally, I enjoyed (like I hope everyone else did), the epic PBS doc, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. It was stunning on HD, and inspired me to start planning a trip to Yosemite to check out the park and the Ahwahnee Hotel. I adored visiting Yellowstone years ago and encountering the bison which blocked my car, so I can't wait to enjoy its California counterpart - and hope to make it to more of these treasured areas in the future.

I'm ready to move on to October and more doc fun!