Jason goes to Docfest--Friday, June 10

Two more, including one of my favorites and one I wish I had missed.

THE TWO DOLLAR BILL DOCUMENTARY was awesome. It's a sharing of stories and history of that amazingly quirky bit of currency. People think $2 bills aren't made anymore (some have even spent some time in jail for trying to spend them.) But in fact they're quite common...sort of. They're not much in circulation, simply because people think they're rare, so if they get one they hold onto it. And they become--to casual collectors, at least--emotionally valuable. You have fond memories of where you got it--even if it's a strip club (oh yeah, I'd heard--but never confirmed--that's a good place to get them. And that does make it into the film.) Another good place to get them in Monticello, since Jefferson enthusiasts have a yen for the $2. We meet people who love spending the $2 bill, and other than the semi-rare moments where the authenticity is questioned, people generally love it. Then we meet the serious collectors. So a regular $2 bill is worth...about $2. But there are some rare ones. Misprints..."star" series...amusing serial numbers...actually, we get a pretty good look at how all our paper money is made, but just focusing on the $2. And then there's the really old, really rare money. Like I had never actually known the difference between a Federal Reserve Note and a United States Note. I even won a $2 bill in the Q&A, for having a sharp eye to notice a 6 1/4 cent (half a "bit"--as in "2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar!") note. And guess what--it's a 1963 United States Note, crisp--that might be worth slightly more than $2. But to me, it's priceless, because it contains the memory of this movie.

And then the second show started with a short,

DISAMBIGUATION is seven minutes of experimental film about the BP oil spill of 2010.

And then the feature THE GREAT WALL is a study in borders. As a voice reads Franz Kafka's "The Great Wall of China" we see footage of walls...and fences...and anything else that separates people. And it just goes on and on for 74 freakin' minutes. And with how exhausted I was, and how desperately I wanted a nap, it's like this movie cursed me and wouldn't let me just peacefully drift off. I shoulda left. What the hell?

Total Running Time: 184 minutes
My Total Minutes: 431,793