March 4 - Steve and I had a nice quick drive from Sedona to Durango yesterday. Weather was good and we got in a little after 6 p.m. I got checked in at the Strater Hotel which is done in a 1900's wild west style. Steve is staying at the Double Tree Hotel. We got our filmmaker badges and nice gift baskets, then went to catch one of the evening movies. Today, I spent the morning taking care of paperwork, checking e-mail and so forth. Saw a couple movies in the afternoon and evening. There was a Mardi Gras party tonight, but it was kind of tame. Afterward, though, everyone congregated at the festival lounge, nicknamed the Nest, which is right across the street from my hotel. It's open from 5 p.m. until everyone leaves which is usually around 3 a.m. They have free booze and sometimes food for the filmmakers and festival staff. It definitely seems like the happening place at the festival. We met several other short-film filmmakers there.

March 5 - Had our second screening today (the first one was before we arrived). It was at 2:30 in the afternoon and was about 80 percent full (apparently the first screening sold out). There were 22 shorts in the program, all under 10 minutes. It was a bit uneven, but there is some tough competition in there. Ours went over pretty well and got a lot of laughs. I was the only filmmaker there, partly because several filmmakers, including Steve, went on a train ride the festival organized. Saw a few other movies, then went to an evening festival party. It was a decent party, if a little mellow. Afterwards it was back to the festival lounge again. Several short-film filmmakers were there, and the festival Director arranged for us to show our films to each other in one of the screening rooms. It was like a miniature film program and a lot of fun. Went to bed after 2 a.m., dreading getting up for my radio interview tomorrow. It's very easy to drink a lot of alcohol at this festival!

March 6 - I did a radio interview up at the local college radio station today with four other filmmakers. They gave us a lot of time and it went very well, not to mention being fun. Afterward, several of us went to breakfast. I went to some films, an afternoon filmmaker reception, and a speaker. Finally, it was another evening spent in the festival lounge and another impromptu screening. The lounge is getting more crowded every night as more filmmakers arrive for the end of the festival.

March 7 - Steve and I went skiing today. The festival arranged comps for us and it was a beautiful day...although I got a bad sunburn. We got back in time for a filmmaker reception at an art gallery, but it was hot and crowded so Steve and I decided to get dinner instead. After that was the third screening of our program. It was a sell-out so I decided to sit in the lobby until my film screened. But, a filmmaker with an earlier film gave me his seat after his film played so I got to see about half the program. The reception of our film was again very good. We also learned they're replaying the program tomorrow night due to its popularity (it will be after awards are determined). The lounge tonight was absolutely packed with the latest filmmaker arrivals and I again stayed late despite my after-ski exhaustion.

March 8 - I started the day taking it easy - slept in, packed, saw a few films. There was a pre-awards ceremony cocktail party which served to get everyone in the proper mood for the awards ceremony at 7. We didn't win anything, but the ceremony was both fun and touching. It closed with a performance by Swil Kanim, a Native American violinist who was fantastic. Durango is easilly the most fun and rewarding festival I have ever attended. The staff treats filmmakers like family and the community really supports the films. After the ceremony, several of us with films in the shorts program went over to introduce the films at the encore screening. Then it was back to the lounge for the final time. It was a great party and fitting end to the festival. The only cloud is the knowledge that we have a 14 hour drive back to L.A. tomorrow.

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