Several of the events were canceled because of low turnout. I was there a little after 1 p.m., spending a portion of the morning writing the best letter I've ever written, a cover note to Mr. Louis Gossett, Jr. and packing it up with the North Star: The Life of Frederick Douglass script to send USPS Priority Mail. The setting changed to Downtown Buffalo, which meant I had to find parking and the Market Arcade theatre. I found a $3 lot and walked about 10 blocks. I had a lobby conversation with Carol, who was an extra in The Natural. A lawyer by day, she apparently has put together quite a scrapbook of photos and memorabilia from the Robert Redford movie filmed in Buffalo. I learned through her that would-be writers should not recount their stories blow by blow in conversations, for fear of causing brain cramps in the listener. Note to self: apologize for the times I've done that! But she was sweet. Until she sat next to me to watch a slasher film titled “Lonely Joe” and crinkled a candy wrapper though the entire 96-minute movie. That was unbearable. The movie featured strong acting, but the plot disappeared after the nude shower scene.

I watched Beyond Breast Cancer: Stories of Survivors, and met Sakri, the director from the UCLA Medical Center.

Then the real fun came – the Film Marketing and Publicity with Dick Delson, who has more than 200 Oscar-Nominated films in his portfolio. To my surprise, my friend, Mr. Gossett, joined him for the panel. We spoke before the panel, and again after, and I got two strong handshakes from him. I told him I sent him some mail, and he was very pleased. “Oh, good. I'll get that when I get home,”he said, with genuine enthusiasm. He is a man, who has to capability to get his off the ground himself, or direct me to any of a thousand others who can do it. I have total confidence in the script at this point.

The evening film offerings were not as enticing as getting out for something to eat. A young San Diego filmmaker, Rusty Trevino, had gotten squeezed for a $40 cab fare that morning, so I offered to drive him back to his hotel. My plan was to stop at Duff's for hot wings, and Rusty was game, so we did. It was a nice chance to network with somebody from a different background and perspective. Rusty was crushed because of the review he got from Dick Delson about his short film, “The High Tower.” He asked me to see his film Wednesday and get back to him with my opinions. Rusty made reference to “people in our age group,” which cracked me up because he's 28. The BNFF is not big on after-parties so far, although I am told that will change toward the end of the week. These social opportunities are very enlightening.  And flattering!