SIFF 2011: Scoreboard

So... When it was all said and done, I managed to catch 57 shows at SIFF 2011, including 48 feature films and 9 shorts packages. It was a rewarding, inspiring, and somewhat exhausting experience. Now, a week later, I think I have finally caught up with sleep!

With hundreds of films in the festival, I missed plenty of them, including many that received high praises. In any case, here is my personal scoreboard:

My Top 5 Documentaries

1. How to Die in Oregon (USA)
2. Hot Coffee (USA) -- SIFF Best Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner
3. My So-Called Enemy (USA)
4. Revenge of the Electric Car (USA)
5. Bobby Fischer Against the World (USA)

My Top 10 Narrative Films

1. Paper Birds (Spain) -- SIFF Best Film Audience Award (Golden Space Needle) winner
2. The Whistleblower (Canada) -- SIFF Best Director Audience Award winner
3. Kung Fu Panda 2 (USA)
4. Apart Together (China)
5. Weekend (UK)
6. Sound of Noise (Sweden)
7. Tilt (Bulgaria)
8. Do You See Colors When You Close Your Eyes? (USA)
9. Romeos (Germany)
10. LOVE (USA)

My Bottom 5 Narrative Films (starting with my least favorite)

1. The Trip (UK)
2. The Off Hours (USA)
3. Ex (Hong Kong)
4. Bibliothèque Pascal (Hungary)
5. Late Autumn (South Korea/USA)

My Top 5 Short Films

1. North Atlantic (Portugal) (Drama)
2. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (USA) (Animation) -- SIFF Best Short Film Audience Award winner
3. Cataplexy (USA) (Comedy)
4. We Are What We Drink (UK) (Comedy)
5. Library of Dust (USA) (Documentary)

For a full list of SIFF jury and audience award winners, go here.

While many friends are impressed or even horrified by my film tally, it's actually much lower than the numbers achieved by many other passholders. As part of my excuse, here is a list of my top 5 distractions (things I chose over SIFF films):

1. U2 concert
2. Friends' weddings, two of them
3. Performing in a Flash Mob
4. A concert by Captain Smartypants
5. A friend's one-man show