Friday, May 25, 2007

SIFF 2007 Opening Night Gala: Son of Rambow

SON OF RAMBOW
(Garth Jennings, 2007, UK, 95 mins)

Last night, I had the extreme pleasure of attending the 2007 SIFF Opening Gala at the new Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Deborah Person, Carl Spence, and Gary Tucker all openly shared their love for the festival, and a general sense of excitement about this year filled the theater (which was packed full). Then the movie started, and I forgot about everything else.

Son of Rambow, directed by Garth Jennings (both Jennings and Producer Nick Goldsmith were in attendance for the screening), is one of the sweetest coming-of-age comedies I have ever seen. Everything about this film made me happy from beginning to end. As for a capsule, I can't say it any better than it's already been said, so click here to read about it on the SIFF site.

To my delight, the film has tons of 80s references that led me down a nostalgic memory lane - and tied right into the DJ theme for the party portion of the evening. Directly after the film, we were herded out through a fancy tented area (VIP only), and down to the Exhibition Hall for the party. Decorated in white and lush, deep red - the party area resembled a comfortable, hip lounge. There were couches and beds to sit on with tons of pillows, big red curtains shielded the walls, the Bombay Gin and Pyramid Ale areas were set up nicely, there were lots of good food vendors (including excellent friend chicken from Ezell's), and there was a big screen (and several smaller ones) playing loops of 80s classics Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club.

In other words: My kind of party. 

The fact that it was absolutely that should be evident by my departure time (1:30am) and the five SIFF Bombay gin drinks, which led to me falling all over producer Nick Goldsmith later, telling him exactly how and why I thought his movie was magic. In retrospect, it's probably a good thing I couldn't find the director. Thank god my party companion was sober enough to drive me home!

This year's festival is off to a really good start - I am ready and excited to go see more films. As for Son of Rambow, you may have to wait awhile to see it if you missed opening night (IMDb is showing a US release of 2008), but trust me: it will be worth it.

Image of Will Poulter and Bill Milner from RogerEbert.com.

7 comments:

  1. I wasn't as fond of Son of Rambow, but I certainly enjoyed the Bombay Sapphire and the Ezell's. In fact, I made a beeline for the party the second the credits began rolling, just to make sure I'd get some fried chicken.
    BTW, were you literally falling all over Nick Goldsmith? Because, that's the picture I would have loved to have taken.

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  2. Oh good, you were there! I was not able to locate any other SIFFbloggers last night - sad.
    Fortunately, I was still able to (mostly) stand when I approached Mr. Goldsmith to gush about the film. I do admit to being a bit wobbly, and "leaning" on him a little, but he was super nice and didn't seem to mind.

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  3. Sounds like it was a lot of fun, I heard the theater was insanely huge (2900 seats?!) and the sound was a little off but the movie looks pretty well received. Darn them for having it the same night Lisa Gerrard was at the Moore.
    BTW hey amie! this is roya.

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  4. Hey! Hi Roya. :) Coincidentally, I just stumbled upon your flickr page while searching for SIFF photos from last night.
    And yes it was INSANELY huge, but really awesome. Apparently they had to import a screen from the East Coast to fit the space.

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  5. The Paramount is larger, slightly, and has a good deal more charm. I'm sure the after-party space was better than the concrete ugliness at Ninth and Pike though. Has anyone considered there may be more sell-outs at the main venue (The Nesholm Family Lecture Hall) than in previous years, due to the size? (400 seats)

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  6. I agree with your review of Son of Rambow. I completely enjoyed it! And I think if I had run into the Director I would have made a giddy, schoolgirl fool of myself. Maybe it was the accent? Maybe it was his laid back attire?
    Sapphire tonics and Ezell's made my night as well!

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  7. David, I agree that the Paramount is lovely, but so was the new space. It was beautiful and modern - a different style from the Paramount. The after-party space was much grander, but I feel that had a LOT to do with the care taken with the set-up and decorations.
    Noelle - glad you loved it as much as I did! It was actually the Producer that made me regress back to a 12-year old girl. He was charming and very gracious when I complimented him.

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