Joe Swanberg's Festival Thoughts

19 Oct 2009

The independent filmmaker shares his itinerary.

Joe Swanberg, who impressed audiences at last year's Festival with Nights and Weekends, returns with Alexander the Last, an emotionally honest, partly improvised study of relationships and the awkwardness of intimacy.

I'm attending this year's Festival... with my film Alexander the Last. This will be my third year in a row presenting a film at the Festival. I can't wait to return.

My time will be spent... exploring the National Gallery (which I do every time I am in London), poking around the Tate Modern and seeing as many films as I can.

The best thing about film festivals is... meeting smart and dedicated film lovers face to face and sharing work with them. I also love interacting with other filmmakers and striking up new friendships.

If I could sit next to anyone during a festival screening, it would be... Barack Obama

The last film I saw was... Inglourious Basterds and it was... much more fun than I expected.

The best film I've seen this year is... Two Lovers, by James Gray. It's the best film I've seen in several years and sets the bar very high for what I hope to achieve with my own work.

If I wasn't visiting the Festival, I'd be spending my time... playing on the internet!

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