New Years Day - Day Thirty Two

today is our day off and we're going to the beach again to try and forget, or at least heal from, the disaster that happened last night during our attempt of capturing an epic fire works display.
CARLOS FERRAND always tells me "documentary is all moments of luck" and sometimes you get unlucky or you simply can't predict the future, no matter how much you try. we did get footage of me and my family watching the fireworks. we were all in silhouettes but because of so many variables that i dont want to get into, it didn't work out and the scene didnt have the "ANNIE" impact that i wanted it to have. after the shoot we found out that my uncle was rushed to the hospital, while we were on the roof filming, with a kidney stone that he was passing just as the clock was striking twelve. my aunt went with him to the hospital and we took care of the little ones. i did my part by taking my borderline-gay 12 year old cousin, after everything died down with PABLO and BEN, to the RINACA strip in order to check out the party that was spilling onto the street after the NEW YEARS EVE fireworks. it was as i usually predict, uneventful and boring but we ran into my sisters and ILIDIO (my older sister's husband) at some bar that was smokey and playing very loud rock music. we went in there for a drink. i had a club soda and my little cousin a tall glass of pineapple juice. he was dead bored and wanted to go home. he was almost in tears about how tired he was and the cigarette smoke that was stinging his eyes.
finally we took a bus home at around 3:00am and and he settled on our couch for bed.

this morning my aunt woke up the apartment at 9:00am and fetched her son. as she thank us, he stumbled out of our door he mumbling something about "thank you" and they were on their way.
after about an hour BEN and I were up, while PABLO slept, and we went to the gas station down the street for some morning sun, coffee and fresh bread. we had a nice long talk about the film and our lives as film makers. i started to get excited at the idea of re-hashing THE HARTINGS but in completely different light. not re-shooting or anything but just editing a film, with my voice over and experience, talking about trying to make a documentary about this family. i really started to get excited about the idea of just putting some of that footage together and trying to construct something interesting without attempting to make anything super clean and commercially successful. just tell the story of my attempt to make this documentary; THE HARTINGS. i just really got excited by the idea of putting those scenes i like together that work without the restriction of HAVING TO MAKE A REAL LIFE DOCUMENTARY, but instead just making a document about the journey following this blind family around the continent.

i'm looking forward to coming home and doing some serious editing, on both projects.
i want to have a rough cut of EL HUASO by the end of SPRING.

time to literally, get off the shitter,
and start my day.