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…er, or rather going prematurely gray. This fact-based article by CNN’s Anderson Cooper throws some humour and colour (pun intended) on going gray a little too soon. Ahem, it may or may not apply to yours truly

“Give in to gray. Make the most of it while you’re still young. Remember, there will come a time in the not too distant future when you’re no longer prematurely gray. People will stop using the word distinguished. By then, you’ll have a wattle, baggy eyes and sagging skin, and pretty young things won’t even notice your hair. Only other guys will.
Bald guys. “

I watched the screening of I Am A Sex Addict as part of the Film Arts festival. It is a charming docu-fiction-narrative based on director and lead-actor Caveh Zahedi’s real life addiction of sex. More specifically, sex with prostitutes.

The film is a re-enactment of the relationships and events in Zahedi’s life during his addiction and his “strategies” to overcome it. An independent film about sex is obviously expected to push the envelope…to make you squirm a little. Fear not, Sex Addict “transcends” the vulgarity with its genuinely humourous take on it, similar to what Kill Bill did to violence. Some of Zahedi’s sexual encouters are downright hilarious, especially his orgasmic howls. Zahedi’s creativity shows well in the scenes where he interrupts a conversation with a character, talks to the audience to make a point, and goes back to the scene.

The film has a few repetitive scenes and lines…especially in Zahedi’s narration where he says “Now, I should have explained this…” in most of the cutbacks. On the positive side, these repetitions simply remind you that this film is about his addiction (which, by definition, is to repeat stuff :wink:). Overall, Sex Addict is a hilarious, dorky and well-written story of a man’s addiction to sex that most males can relate to. You should see it.

Quality of Life is a compelling film about the world of graffiti - the art and the artists. It is shot entirely in the Mission district of San Francisco. The film revolves around two kids that are graffiti artists, spray painting Mission during the night, and, ironically, are painters during the day. It has the expected nocturnal scenes where the protaganists prepare, spray paint and get caught by the cops and other cliched situations like father-son duel, boyfriend-girlfriend duel, friend-friend duel…all with a high-energy background score.

Where the film stands out is that it sticks to its core - graffiti painting. It does not glorify it nor does it dwell in the economic stigma of its consequence. It simply shows a “slice-of-life” view of the artists. And it peaks with an astonishingly obvious yet unexpected end. It is not just that a Picasso painting is the last graffiti painted, but its the message it delivers. An end that will haunt you.

After the film, I spoke with the director Benjamin Morgan (he was in the theatre, promoting the film). Expectedly, he used to be a graffiti artist with a juvenile record. Two things that he mentioned about the film that intrigued me- one was that the film is loosely based on the events leading to Picasso’s Blue Period. The other is that the title of film derives from the “Qualify of Life” indicators that include graffiti as one of the environmental indicators.

The film has already won awards in a couple of film festivals and made its theatrical debut, rightfully, in San Francisco. There is no Hollywood-style marketing promotion - it is thriving on word-of-mouth. If it makes it to where you live, consider yourself lucky, and go see it.

stop bush won 2nd place in last week’s contest!