Hey folks, Harry here... One of my great adventures as a filmgoer was joining the Dude, Roger Ebert, Dusty Cohl, Jim Emerson, Richard Corliss and the rest on an unforgetable film festival aboard a cruise ship touring Latin America while watching movies. Bliss. Due to Book commitments this year I was unable to attend... It was a tragedy. It was upon that boat that I saw GIRL ON THE BRIDGE and CROUPIER for the first time... and went through the Panama Canal passing my Uncle's nuclear submarine in the process... proving that two Knowles' could fit through the canal at the same time! This was my favorite festival experience ever and hopefully... God willing in 2004 I'll make it again. I hope. Here's Anita who was wonderful enough to drop me a line to let me know how this year went. Sigh... here ya go....

Coming from Holland (a part of the Netherlands, like England is part of Britain), a cruise on the Holland America Line should be somewhat familiar, or at least put things in a certain historic perspective. This should be especially true, since I live in Rotterdam very near to the harbour where the original ships from the Holland America Line set sail to the New World with thousands of Dutch emigrants hoping for a better life in North America. (In fact, the original Holland America Line headquarters - now a hotel - is just steps from my apartment.) Working at and visiting different film festivals the world over, the concept, customs, and routines of film festivals are not strange to me either. But the Floating Film Festival is something completely different. At most film festivals, you rush from one theatre to the next. You stand in long lines for tickets and then for popcorn and then for seats. You miss meals and sleep in favour of films on a daily basis. You select films from short programme descriptions in a panic and hope that your selections aren't sold out, or worse, that the films you've chosen aren't ones you want to walk out of ten minutes in. At the FFF there are no such things. The films are already chosen by the programming team, your seat is always free, there are no lines, and no rushing, only a sea breeze to accompany everything and a drink with the same name to enjoy afterward. This all sounds slightly decadent, well... forget the slightly part, but it is oh so lovely.

The Floater began Saturday afternoon with a welcoming drink as we set sail from San Diego to our first Mexican port, Cabo San Lucas at the southernmost tip of the Baja Penninsula. Hardly unpacked and accustomed to the sea swell, we were off to the first film, BURIED TREASURES, a Canadian documentary from Dan Spencer showcasing 1950's performances of African-American jazz artists (Ella Fitgerald and Duke Ellington included) from the vaults of CBC television.

But to give you an idea, the daily routine when we were at sea looked something like this: a film at ten in the morning, one at five in the afternoon and a third one after dinner at ten in the evening. These days were a festival-goer's dream: an early breakfast of fresh fruit, or eggs and bacon or pancakes and syrup (or perhaps all three!) followed by a quick work out in the gym or walk around the deck and then a film. The morning screenings included several documentaries and shorts, THE JOEL FILES and FREDDY MERCURY - THE UNTOLD STORY among them. Both these award-winning films were produced by Rudi Dolezal who was on board not only to introduce his films, but also to share a meal with. This is one of the many, many real pleasures of the FFF - the chance to mix with filmmakers, programmers, and critics in a way that one would never have a chance to at a larger festival.

After the morning screening, we would enjoy a leisurely lunch - burgers and hot dogs at the barbeque or hot entrees and an overwhelming selection of pizzas, salads, and sandwiches inside - lounge around the deck, perhaps have a Corona or two (we were in Mexico after all), and then head off to the next screening. The five o'clock screenings included American indie fare (the engrossing CICADAS by the up-and-coming director Kat Candler) UK tragi-comedy (the bittersweet CRUSH starring Andie MacDowell) and an Oscar nominee for best foreign film, LAGAAN. LAGAAN is a four hour(!) film about a local farmer who stands up against the British colonial rulers. To sum up: the farmer and his supporters have to learn to play cricket (and beat the British team no less) to prevent the British from tripling their taxes. Perfect entertainment and film art for four hours. This film ended up winning both the Audience and Critics Award (the first time a film has won both awards on the Floater). Completely justified.

In the evening, we'd change for dinner and then congregate in the Rotterdam Dining Room. Sometimes casual, sometimes formal, each night you would meet someone new. You might meet one of the programmers or participants who has gone on to found their own film festival like Marcelle Lean (Cinefranco in Toronto), Roger Ebert (the Overlooked festival in Chicago), or Kathleen Carroll (the Lake Placid Film Festival). Or you might meet a film critic like Bruce Kirkland (of The Toronto Sun) or Richard Corliss (TIME Magazine) and hear first-hand about some of the actors and directors they have interviewed or their take on virtually any film you can think of. You could end up discussing a particular camera movement with Haskell Wexler or the pitfalls of a career in Hollywood with Cliff Robertson. Or you may discover that one of Floaters (rabid film fans, all of them) shares your favourite film.

After a belt-loosening dinner with wonderful, warm service from the staff of the MS Statendam, it's off to the screening room for the last film of the day. The late screening was often followed by drinks on the deck and much discussion about the day's films (and more than a few cigars).

So this was our routine for the days we were at sea. But five of the ten days were spent docked at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, and Puerto Vallarta. On such days I normally tried to get an early breakfast and then go off the ship to see something of Mexico - my favorite city was Puerto Vallarta with its beautiful, wide 'malecon' (a sort of boardwalk) and great guacamole. The ports are fascinating and splendid and a shopper's dream. Beautiful Mexican silver abounds as well as pewter, authentic folk art, and many other enticing finds. We discovered several delightful places to eat; one in particular served up scrumptious food, cold beer, and much political commentary on the state of Mexican affairs from the owner. Back on board, we still managed to find time to relax on the deck, to swim, to play table tennis, and (most of all) to eat. As an extra Mexican treat we had the chance to see the box office hit Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, which gave us a filmic impression of the Mexican countryside and coastline (or a lesson about Mexican sexual ethics...?).

The eclectic, international line-up is put together by the truly stellar programming team of George Anthony, Kathleen Carroll, Mary Corliss, Richard Corliss, Roger Ebert, Jim Emerson, and Hannah Fisher. Hannah, as Programming Director, also has the daunting task of coordinating all the programmers and their films. All of this, plus the organization of the festival as a whole falls under the leadership of Dusty Cohl and his indefatigable wife, Joan. (Dusty is one of the co-founders of the Toronto International Film Festival so he knows a thing or two about film festivals.) They collectively put together an line-up of more than twenty-five films including features, shorts, and documentaries from eleven countries. Highlights for me included Fred Schepisi's LAST ORDERS, L'EMPLOI DU TEMPS, the classic TROUBLE IN PARADISE, Chris Wilcha's biting THE TARGET SHOOTS FIRST, LA TROPICAL by David Turnley, and Tim Hamilton's hilarious TRUTH IN ADVERTISING.

But the most memorable moment of the Floater for me occurred during the middle of the festival. On Wednesday, February 20th, an unforgettable moment took place unique to this year's FFF: Roger Ebert conducted an almost six hour 'Frame by Frame' analysis of THE THIRD MAN. I never saw so much in one film. Listening to Roger speak about films, about how they can open up other worlds and educate the viewer, one can conclude that there is nothing more important than watching movies. Whether this is Roger's intention or belief, I don't know, but I can only say: we want more! And in one way we got more. Roger has just published a new book entitled The Great Movies (we had the book launch on board) which contains his essays on 100 important films. When I got back to Rotterdam, CITIZEN KANE was on television. I watched it (I had seen it many times before) but first I read Roger's essay and saw it in a way that I never had before.

I saw more then twenty films in total and my normal fair Dutch complexion only slightly tanned (to prove that we didn't sit on the deck all day). Now I only have one mission: to change this bi-annual film event into a yearly one and to move the Floating Film Festival to Europe every other year, starting in Rotterdam of course.

Anita Németh