So, this is the second last day of Filmapalooza 2012 in Taos, New Mexico. For those of you still thinking I am in Mexico…nope…this is New Mexico…this is in the United States….Mexico is a another country. Today has to be like one of those super awesome days in my life. Today was the day that my Film – ‘Solus’ premiered in front of an audience in the United States. I will get to that in just a bit…but before that…the journey to that moment.

This morning when I woke up, I did not have snow like yesterday but my car’s thermometer did read -8 degrees Celsius. Just like yesterday I drove my car from my hotel room to the lobby of the hotel to have breakfast. Today’s breakfast however was not alone but was with the Filmmakers from Singapore. It’s amazing when people from different cultures start talking about films and the conversation eventually ends up in Bollywood. Apparently one of the Filmmakers from Singapore while in Film School was asked to watch the film Om Shanti Om as part of his course work. While he did not look very impressed by the film, he mentioned that after watching the film, his Japanese classmates would regularly invite him to watch Bollywood flicks. It’s interesting how I had to spend a few minutes explain to my new friends that Om Shanti Om was a Bollywood 1970’s spoof and not truly representative of our films. In response to this I was told that while in Film School their professor told them that they would get attendance even if they did not attend the film screening of Om Shanti Om. That’s mighty convenient. How come I did not get that sort of liberty when I was studying – Advanced Mathematics for Economics???

Today at Filmapalooza 2012 we had three screenings featuring at least 10 to 15 films each. The first one started at 10 in the morning and featured some very awesome team. The first screening was a film by the Kuala Lumpur team that did such an awesome job with their crime movie. I learnt something new from their film…it was the term that they coined – ‘Grass Choppers’…a term used to represent vegetarians. I know it sounds quite harsh when you read this in isolation but when taken in contest of the crime thriller that they made, it fit in perfectly. The day continued with some more awesome screening including the film from Romania, the comedy about death from Madison and the super super awesome ‘Prey’ from Singapore.

The second screening of the day was the one that featured my film – SOLUS. This screening was at 2:30 in the afternoon. For some reason though I was not quite feeling like I wanted to attend the mega screening that was happening at the Art Center. Even though my friends had saved me a spot in the main auditorium, I opted to watch the film in the Secondary Venue adjacent to the main auditorium. Somehow watching my film with an audience makes me a little nervous. The thing with my film is that it is a horror film. It’s not exactly a film you would watch and laugh along with. Most of the horror films featured in the festival so far have been relatively funny…ours is definitely not. However after the film was screened we got an awesome response. In fact later in the day I have close to a dozen filmmakers come up to me and tell me that they loved our film. I must admit, that feeling is quite awesome. In addition to this, Karishma from my Radio Station City 1016, caught up with me Live during the day to find out what has been happening at the festival and how my film has been received.

There were several other films that were screened today that were worth a mention. These included the film from Johannesburg about a son who discovers some disturbing truths about his grandmother, a school drama from Osaka and a film almost entirely shot in reverse from Boston. When you watch what people from around the world do with their films you cannot help but be inspired. I have made several contacts over the last few days with filmmakers who are looking at erasing the lines of geography and making history in the process.

My day however in Taos is not complete without my dear friend from Russia adding his words of wisdom. For those of you who might not have read my blog from yesterday...well basically I met a Russian Film Director at the Festival and was telling him that he does not sound Russian. He immediately then went to this cliché Russian Hollywood Accent that we all recognise. Just for fun, everyday we record something in that voice of his. Today I asked the ‘Russian Film Director’ at the film festival what was his favorite Bollywood Film. Check out his response below.

The day finally ended with the most awesome event at the Pub in the hotel I am staying at. We had a Karaoke night and guess what…I was the first one of stage singing this evening. Nope…I did not do a solo so you do not need to fell bad for the folks here, but I did join in on – ‘We are Family.’ I think tonight I had one of the most awesome nights in the last few months only because it is illegal to smoke inside pubs in the States. I think this is something that needs to be implemented across the globe. I know in India now you cannot smoke in pubs but in Dubai that rule still has not come into vogue. I just got back a few minutes ago and right not, I do not smell like an ashtray and I do not feel like I have smoked 20 cigarettes. You know what…I like it this way. If you are a smoker, it’s ok to smoke…but outside buddy. I have made a choice and I don’t think I need to be subject to the torture. I know I must be pissing off a lot of you reading this, but…you know what… WHATEVER…this is a No Smoking Zone!!!