Could life get any better than this? Pardon me, that was the sugar high plus caffeine-infused adrenaline talking. But moments like this make me love the District so damn much!

Two days ago marked the first day of the annual DC International Film Festival and obviously on the day of the press release I spent a couple hours making a tight-fit schedule to catch as much international films as I can within the two-week period. By the end of the day my cinephile friends already got a copy of my schedule ^_^ The big theme this year is Brazilian New Cinema and the Hip-Hop Culture. I don't care much about the latter, but south American cinema has always fascinated me for its somber yet beautiful take on life.

I went to see the first movie on my list, Tapas . It was great, a good example of why I love European films. They're so good at depicting the beautiful life without romanticizing or glamorizing it like most Hollywood films would. The film was about five different but interlocking love stories in a Barcelone neighborhood.

And then today came an even bigger news. Well, actually it's not new had I been checking my mailing list subscriptions. My friend just told me that there's an Indonesian Film Series at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian! The series is titled Growing Up: Three Indonesian Directors, it features arguably three of the most productive and prolific young Indonesian directors at the moment. No, no, of course Garin Nugroho is not on the list, he's on a league of his own now. The directors are Riri Riza, Rudy Soedjarwo, and Hanung Bramantyo. Well, among the three, Hanung is definitely the dark horse here, some thinks his films are just highschool productions put on tape but I think he got talent. Yes, his films are a bit crude, but in that roughness the essence of the story shines. Rudy Soedjarwo on the other hand, has often been quoted as the one who single-handedly revived the Indonesian film industry with his blockbuster, "Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?" Meanwhile, Riri is the arty director with amazing range having directed the first Indonesian kids blockbuster in decades "Petualangan Sherina" to festival darling around the global asian film festival circuit "Eliana, Eliana."

Times like this I truly cherish living in this small yet diverse metropolitan area. I sure hope many people would discover that there is more to Indonesia than the beaches and Muslim extremists.