I took a break from writing, from getting ready for a book tour and spent five days in the Big Smoke at the New Zealand International Film Festival. What a treat and a true reminder of how important story telling is and has been throughout history. Larry and I booked a suite at a nice motel right next to a bus that runs to downtown every 15 minutes (suite sounds grand but at $95 a night it was a bargain as it had a small kitchen which meant we ate some nice very affordable light meals there instead of always  spending money in restaurants.) We then took in three of four different movies each day. My absolute favorite, The Separation – an Iranian film with subtitles. Second favorites all tied – The First Grader from Kenya, Sing my Song – a biopic of Harry Belafonte, Buck – the story of the true Horse Whisperer.  Two of the films we choose just didn't seem to work for either of us.  In the end both of us agreed – the ones we liked best all had strong compelling story lines.  They also made us feel we knew people very like the ones portrayed. the charactors actions all made sense.  The ones neither of us enjoyed didn't seem to have strong reasons for being…even if the film making was good or in one case – Meeks Crossing- the photography was wonderful. But interestingly the ones we liked least won awards at other festivals. Guess that's why there are so many different book and films, everyone looks for a different thing from a story.