Visit to the London Film Festival

There I was. And after four years living in this amazing city I finally made it to a screening of the famous London Film Festival. I love film, which is one of the reasons why I moved here in the first place, yet I had never been to this festival, until now. Why? I kept procrastinating my plans. Less important things got in the way. This time, I was very close to cancelling again when my friend stood me up. But no! I was true to my word and without thinking it twice got on the tube and headed straight to the BFI, Southbank. There I was, alone, suddenly walking along the Thames, in a slightly cold autumn afternoon. It was packed! Considering it was a Wednesday. There were people everywhere. I love London! Just like the London Paper! I definitely love London! All it offers and all its opportunities. I love London for its exhibitions, festivals, diversity, museums, concerts, and the fact that there is always something going on; well, except for the underground that most of the time seems to be on strike. Despite the weather and the crazy people all over, anyone can be someone in London. So there I was, walking, until I reached my destination and said: yes, this is the one! I entered the building, headed to the ticket office and there I was, staring at oblivion.

Since I missed the film I wanted to watch, I chose the 4:15pm one instead. It was an Argentinean film titled “What I Love The Most'' (Lo Que Mas Quiero) written and directed by Delfina Castagnino. She introduced the film; the lights went off and the journey started.

There we were, a group of strangers sharing, for one moment only, one reality. It’s an amazing feeling for me every time I sit in a cinema. It is absolutely fascinating, the way I am sitting with all these people, sharing, laughing, and experiencing life through these characters and their stories. But this time it was, well… you’ll see. It all went as I thought it would be. We were laughing at the same time, enjoying and living the moment. For that hour and a half we were all in Bariloche, Argentina. Until half an hour after the film started, some random subtitles showed up on the screen. This time we were all lost. I had no idea what was going on and I was, like the rest of the people there, looking sideways, searching for answers. But it was all in vain. The weird non-matching subtitles kept going on for most of the movie. This really didn’t help the slow pace of the film. Nonetheless, it was a good example of independent cinema. Just a few characters, almost no editing, one camera and as a consequence no music, only the natural sounds of the surroundings.

What I Love The Most by Delfina Castagnino: very emotional, beautifully shot with great scenery.

Definitely worth watching, without the random misplaced subtitles-that is.