Written by Mira Moreau, Cinema & Photography '21, Wayne, Maine 

As soon as the FLEFF schedule went live on Monday, I hopped in my Subaru, hit the gas, and barreled down South Hill in pursuit of one thing and one thing only.

Okay, ten things.

My FLEFF tickets. I marched into the Cinemapolis lobby and rattled off titles until the nice man printing my tickets told me I had to slow down. 

How could I, though? After nine weeks of watching trailers, interviewing filmmakers, and hearing all the festival tips and tricks, I'm ready to become the Phantom of Cinemapolis, inhabiting the dark theatre corners for days on end. 

There are a few tickets I'm especially excited about. 

1. Salomé. A biblical execution story with an LGBTQ cast made in the Roaring Twenties with stylized costumes accompanied by a zydeco band from Central New York. Talk about Disruptions. 

2. Kelly Gallagher Animations. When we watched a clip of Kelly Gallagher's animation in our FLEFF Blogging Seminar, the colors and sounds transported me to a modern art museum. Gallagher's Vimeo bio says her work focuses on "exploring politically radical left histories." I'm eager to expand the visceral experience I had in our seminar by hearing Kelly speak about what inspires her work.

3. Staring at the Sun. One of my favorite moments as a FLEFF blogger was interviewing the Staring at the Sun editor, Sara Corrigan. She confidently spoke about her passion for working on women-centered stories. I'm excited to become immersed in a story about rebellious women and to hear Sara speak.

4. I Am Not a Witch. This British-Zambian film about a young Zambian girl who is sent to a witch camp appeals to me because it approaches a feminist story in a satirical way. It's cheeky, it's written by a first-time female writer-director, and it's based on true stories that occurred in a region of the world I have much to learn about. 

5. The Intercept. Rodrigo Brandao is an IC alum and the Director of Communications for The Intercept, a news publication that produces "fearless, adversarial journalism." To ignite the most new ideas, and to fully tire myself out by the end of the week, I'm excited to detour from narrative and experimental films and learn about storytelling from a journalism perspective.