Here’s Why I’m Going to the 2018 DIFF This Weekend, and You Should, Too

Sometimes it’s not about work. To clarify, in this blog representing my company, work is important, but so is the work-life balance as an individual person, and as a team. I feel like the big projects can wear you out as a group; unwinding back to routine is hard, and sometimes even that can make us all exhausted.

For me, this is challenging, as my job is 80 percent detail and structure, 20 percent creative. I also tend to take on extra projects because I think I have the capacity, even if I don’t. Hyper-attention and dedication is embedded in my soul. This leads me to the point of this blog, which is that I am psyched about the Dallas International Film Festival. And if any of that sounds like you, you should be, too!

I’ve been living in Dallas now for about 2 years, yet I’ve run into a problem. When I get to spend time outside of work, I don’t want to read or write (sadly, because I do it all day) and being physically adventurous is not something I enjoy on the whole. I’m not a homebody, but I love movies and music and typically spend my time at home watching Netflix or listening to records. If I go anywhere, it’s to see a movie or listen to / watch live performances. I feel like all my friends and I do is watch the same movies we’ve always seen and get at the same restaurants that are nearby and moderately priced.

So when my coworkers here at bk began to talk about the Dallas Film Society and the Dallas International Film Festival – partly because they love to go each year, and partly because we got to do some commercial spots for the event itself – I was elated! It’s an annual 8-day festival that celebrates the wonderment of movies as a cultural phenomenon that starts tonight, so I don’t even have to wait for it.

First off, the commercials turned out awesome (Check these out!).

Second, something that combines film and light social interaction with my friends and coworkers seems right up my alley. This gives me something new to do, somewhere to go, and something that actually sounds interesting to me! In fact, I was checking out their list of films and here’s a list of a few random things that caught my eye:

• Bo Burham, a rising comedian who focuses on introspection, is listed as a director. I mean, when? What? I must know what his directive style is.
• A short film that stars Nancy from Stranger Things. Her real name is Natalie Dyer.
• Harvey, the black and white 1950s move about the 6-ft rabbit that only one guy can see.
• Hair Wolf, that has the following intriguing description: “In a black hair salon in gentrifying Brooklyn, the local residents fend off a strange new monster.”
• And June, the story of “An immigrant Chinese wife tries to fit in at her husband’s graduation reception in 1950s America.”

There’s also political films, Texas-based films and several cultural films. As well as the big premieres: Shock and Awe, the 25^th anniversary screening of Jurassic Park, and the 40^th anniversary screening of Animal House.

It’s time to get us out of our ruts and go to the festival – grab your team (or any day, really, because it’s 8 days in a row!) You can buy tickets to see specific movies for about as much as you’d spend at a theater, so you can pick what you want and leave the rest. Or make this the week to remember for 2018 by getting passes and going to the premiers, parties and drinking from the open bar in the filmmakers lounge.