Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

BY CYNDI GREENING, MANHATTAN – It’s Sunday in Manhattan. A beautiful, bright blue sky hangs above the skyline. Our frustration with getting into films has reached a boiling point so we decided to try to get into a Broadway show instead. Ironically, that seems easier than getting into a film at the festival. As we walked toward the theaters, we stumbled upon a Sikh parade moving through Golda Meir Square. There was an undulating sea of orange scarves and a plethora of flowing saris. The chanting was haunting. Click on either image to see and hear twelve seconds of the parade. That’s right, twelve seconds. I didn’t have a video camera with me so this was all I could get with my digital still camera. You still get the gestalt of the moment.

We were able to get tickets to A CHORUS LINE Even though this is my fourth (!) trip to NYC, it was my first Broadway show. Pamela was quite determined to get to a show and I’m glad we decided to bag the movies and catch the live theater instead. I’ve loved the music for A Chorus Line since it first debuted. Seeing it was even better! I’ve been singing or (mercifully) humming “I can do that” and “I hope I get it” all week. “What I did for love” is in my repetoire for melancholy moments … like those moments when we’re trying to get into Mary Stuart Masterson’s CAKE EATERS.

Unfortunately, much of the festival has been an exercise in frustration. We RSVP’d, as instructed. We arrived an hour early, as instructed. We got into the Badge holders line, as instructed. We got to the door of the theater and were turned away by a particularly brusque NY volunteer who told us she simply could not let us in. Hours and hours of frustration is what we experience. So, we went out to the press line to see if we could get a shot of MSM and cast and a pithy quote or two. A particularly brusque security guard tried to block our path then realized we were press and allowed us through. In the end, we saw Masterson. She appeared excited and anxious for the debut of her film … a film we never got to see. I hope it went well.