Kate and Cascadia

Here's a piece of writing. I can't remember the last time I actually wrote something, finished it, and put it out into the world.

I need to go back to doing this

I think it's time I went back to writing on here. This time I'm going to take it less seriously. I'm going to re-edit a short piece of writing I've been working on and publish it this week.

Favorite 20 films of 2012 (with honorable mentions) Updated 4/8/13

I saw 165 new release films this year, which are all listed at the end with grades. I consider "this year" to be films released in the US during 2012 (in theaters, home video or online, not counting festivals).

Fake Oscar Ballot (Updated 1/22)

I don't quite understand how Academy Award voting works. I think everyone votes within their own branch for nominations, so directors would vote for best director but not best original score. Regardless, below is what I would vote for in select categories. 

Some notes:

• I saw 78 92 of the eligible films, which are listed here. Some films that I would've strongly considered for nominations that aren't eligible are Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Beyond the Hills, The Comedy, Elena, For Ellen, Hello I Must Be Going, Indie Game: The Movie, Red Hook Summer
• Obviously I'm not in any sort of voting group...Academy voters are sent DVDs of many of the eligible films, so there is no financial or time strain. Because of this, I have not seen some major eligible films including (in order of perceived importance) Amour, Samsara, The Gatekeepers, Middle of Nowhere, Anna Karenina
• The full list of eligible films I've seen will be at the end

The nominations:

Best Picture:

1. Beasts of the Southern Wild
2. Oslo, August 31st
3. The Cabin in the Woods
4. Cloud Atlas Zero Dark Thirty
   
5. Your Sister's Sister

If I did an Indiewire critics' poll ballot (Updated 1/6)

Thought I would do this for fun. Technically there are no "honorable mentions" but I thought I would include those because you can only choose one person/film for most categories. 

I am going to do the same thing for the Academy nominations ballot.

Best Film:

1. Beasts of the Southern Wild
2. Oslo, August 31st
3. The Cabin in the Woods
4. Beyond the Hills
5. Zero Dark Thirty
6. Hello I Must Be Going
7. Wreck-It Ralph
8. Your Sister's Sister
9. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
10. Cloud Atlas
11. End of Watch 

Best Director: Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

A conversation with the directors of The Atomic States of America

Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce directed the recent documentary The Atomic States of America. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 and continues to run the festival circuit. I loved the film when I saw it at the Montclair International Film Festival. Its next stop is at the Seattle International Film Festival, playing at the Harvard Exit Theater June 7th and June 8th. More information can be found on the film's Facebook page, located here.

What have I been up to since my last birthday?

Hello readers! I made this list on my birthday to reflect on the last year of my life. Enjoy!

Professional accomplishments: 

• Finished 6-month internship at Grant Thornton Boston office as Marketing Intern
• Continued film blog Bostonian on Film for which I’ve done 18 reviews, 5 interviews and 4 other pieces since my last birthday
• 2.5 month internship as Marketing & Administrative Intern at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
• Blogger, blogging about once a month for Livingston Patch
• Elected and re-elected to Vice President of NUFEC, the NU Film Enthusiasts’ Club
• 3.5 months into a 6-month internship at AOL Advertising