Just as filmmaking is my passion, so is running. Anyone who dedicates so much energy and time to something can understand how significant the intwining of one's deep loves can be. The Buenos Aires Running Film Festival is not only a brilliant presentation of films celebrating the human spirit, it is an important elevation of films that feature how the sport of running can transcend all of the separate elements. From documentary to narrative films, every single piece is a gift from its filmmakers, a gift of their souls (and soles).
Yet it isn't just that this film festival exists, although I feel it extremely important that it does, it is the loving care and respect the festival's producers give to each of their selections. In a year that had every festival moving online due to the pandemic, I've seen some pretty unworthy presentations. Some festivals just hoarded films as a money making vehicle and through them all online in a catalog that made me feel my film was just a book on the shelf, indistinguishable from all the others. The Buenos Aires Running Film Festival is the antithesis of that. They've accepted any and all materials I sent to them and they raised them up, adding elements, style, and their personality to them. During the screening week I would open my Instagram account to be pleasantly surprised by their posts, every single one of them. Their website is sleek and dynamic. Their catalog is pared to what I perceive as the producers' favorite films and their placement and presentation is evidence of this.
Communication with the folks at BARUNFF has been extraordinary. I've enjoyed every single interaction. If 2020 weren't riddled with closures and sickness, our entire team would have happily trekked down to Buenos Aires. I know this to be true. I will have to contribute to the running/filmmaking community again, I suppose. Having the opportunity to visit Buenos Aires and these fine humans at this festival would add another level of satisfaction in doing so.
BARUNFF; Thank you for the love you've shown my work. The feeling is quite mutual.