Run Raven Run - Roma Musicians Open AIFF2021

 Lots of firsts lately.  First plane ride in almost two years and tonight we were at the Bear Tooth for the first time in two years at the Anchorage International Film Festival Opening.  The Festival is both live and online.  

Masks are required except while eating and drinking and two spaces are left open between your party and the next.  We decided to try it because when I went online to buy your ticket I could see there were mostly empty seats.  

And a pass to the online festival doesn't get you into the theater free, so I'm guessing lots of people are staying home.  But if you're fully vaccinated I'd encourage you to come.  The big screen was a great change.  And while everything seems new and different, it quickly seems like normal again.  The biggest shock was that the Bear Tooth orange cones are a thing of the past.  With reserved seats, the wait staff doesn't have to go looking for your cone.  They have your seat number.  

And there are lots of films that are scheduled live.  And they have printed programs at the Bear Tooth.  Here's a couple of pages so you can see there are live films all week.  Some at the Bear Tooth, the museum, and the E Street Theater.  

The Festival directors and some board members were on stage to greet folks.


Run Raven Run took place mostly in Romania as film maker Michael Rainin takes us into the lives of different Gypsy musical traditions.  We skip around from one family to another with bits of history and geography thrown in.  That probably sounds a bit tedious, but the people in the movie pulled us into their lives and their world view.  Credit has to go to the film maker, but even more so, I'm guessing, to the people who took him into their homes and shared their lives with him.  We went from traditional oriental Gypsy music to violins to rap.  We saw beautiful rural villages and horrible Bucharest slums.  We traveled to Europe from Rajasthan, India.  We encountered Nazi concentration camps, and see Ceaușescu's trip to North Korea and his overthrow.  We even see some American jazz musicians and a great Louis Armstrong imitation.  

Ida Theresa Myklebost, Festival Co-Director
interviews Run Raven Run Director Michael Rainin

The director of the film, Michael Rainin, talked about the film and making it at the end.  Part of the discussion was about the acceptability of using the word Gypsy.  As you might assume by its use here that he felt the people in the film used it and didn't seem to have any objection to its use.  

Go online and check out the long list of films.  Tomorrow Lune plays at 1pm at the Bear Tooth, A family Shorts Program plays at 4pm at the Museum, and A Sexplantion plays at the Museum at 8pm.

Or just watch it all whenever you can online with a festival pass.  Or pay to watch individual films.  

But do try to go to at least one live event.