Folklife Surprise

So, today was spent wandering about Folklife, as I wrote over here. Note to self: the Funhouse appears to be a reincarnated Zak's, and I bet they have a better beer selection than Folklife this year. Folklife apparently only has two beer gardens this year and the ONLY beer on tap is from Henry Weinhard's, which is a mere smidge of an improvement over a Budweiser-only or Miller-only concession, just from a quality standpoint. I mean, last year, you could at least get Elysian brews or swill; this year, it was swill, swill, or swill.

So why am I posting this to the Siffblog? Because Greg and I were driven into the EMP's Liquid Lounge in search of a palatable brew. As we were leaving, a lovely Latin girl entered, accompanied by a young man, at the foot of the stairs near the streetside entrance to the Liquid Lounge. She looked familiar to me, and in a moment I realized I had seen Ms. Catalina Sandino Moreno, the star of SIFF entry Maria Full of Grace.

Two beers the wiser I unthinkingly stepped up to her and said, "Hey, I saw your movie. It was great."

She smiled and sad "Thank you! It was my best work."

I instinctively reached out and held her forearms as I said, "Well you were great. I expect more from you! I hope you enjoy the festival!" or something along those lines. Her hands were cold. She thanked me, and Greg and I continued down the stairs and out the door of the EMP.

A few steps later, the full surreality of what had just occurred started to enter my consciousness. I have written, here or elsewhere, about the reality-blurring effect of intensive press screenings - when theatrical movie viewing occupies the bulk of my working hours for days at a time, my sense of reality, of personal versus entertainment memories, blurs.

I reacted to Ms. Moreno as though she was, indeed, a personal acquaintance. The interaction was graceful, happily. I do, in fact, expect more great stuff from her. But I think it might be a good idea for me to more closely observe the naissance of my social feelings.