This week, festival president Michael Moore sent a letter to TCFF moviegoers sharing some of his favorite festival memories, and asking for others to share their own experiences from this year's event. As part of my efforts to catch up the blog, I thought I'd share some of my personal highlights from the 2008 festival. Catch up on some of the moments you might have missed, and share your own by clicking the "Comments" link below or emailing mike@traversecityfilmfestival.org.

Falling in Love with Woody Allen Again - I never know what to expect from Woody Allen anymore. He's made some of my all-time favorite films, but he's also put out a few (comparatively) half-hearted efforts lately that seemed to lack that intrinsic Woody charm. I was worried he might be beginning to lose his touch (and couldn't blame him if he was - the guy is 72 after all, he has to slow down sometime). So I was surprised to find myself falling completely in love with Allen all over again while watching our opening night film, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." In fact, "Vicky" may now be my favorite Allen flick, if not for sheer genius of dialogue ("Annie Hall" takes the prize there), then for how personal the film felt. "Vicky" both satirizes and empathizes with the hallmark experiences of our modern generation - namely, perpetual dissatisfaction, the hungry restlessness of youth, and the desire to love and live and experience each moment to the fullest, while still trying to maintain some sense of moral ground and direction in the process. I suspect this is a film that will amuse many people who see it, but also strongly move a younger audience who feel they are in some way living it.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" poster

Kicking Off the Festival With Style - Due to the threat of rain, two parties originally slated for other locations (the Opening Night Party and the Volunteer Party) were moved to Building 50 during the festival. Some would argue four tent parties in one week may be too much, but event planner Allison Beers did a fantastic job turning each outing into its own unique soiree. I've always loved Opening Night best - all of the excitement and anticipation of the festival, none of the impending exhaustion. And everything at the party was perfect this year, from the turnout to the music to the food and beverage vendors. Even the thunderstorm somehow added to the magic.

Lightning sets the backdrop for the Opening Night Party

Learning to Speak Italian - First off, I love that we now have two women on the TCFF Board of Directors (Sabina and Christine Lahti), and that one of them is foreign. As a journalist, I was inspired by Sabina's film "Viva Zapatero!" in 2006 and was looking forward to seeing her new mock-doc ("Sympathy for the Lobster") this year. But it was a short conversation we had after one of her press screenings that left the biggest impact on me. Outside the screening venue, I sat on a stoop as Sabina smoked a cigarette, pacing and talking about the political and religious climate in Italy and how difficult it is to engage in free speech there. Mid-conversation, she came and sat down on the step next to me, and we continued to talk side-by-side. I didn't think anything of it at first, but as we were speaking, I was suddenly struck by the fact that in America, it's typically uncomfortable for someone you've just met to sit that close to you. We're such a socially awkward country - it's often a struggle for us to form real connections, or even engage in any kind of honest conversation with someone we don't intimately know. But as with many Europeans I've met (Italians in particular), Sabina didn't show any of our typical American reticence. She just plopped down on the step, looked me in the eye, and had a real conversation about things that were deeply important to her. It left me with a strong conviction that while we like to think of ourselves as the most advanced country on Earth, we still have a long way to go in terms of some very basic key skills, like being able to engage in meaningful conversation with others.

TCFF Board Member Sabina Guzzanti

Rocking Out in My Elementary School - Let's be honest: Heavy metal can sometimes be a tough sell. But what many people didn't realize until they actually saw the documentary on this underappreciated Canadian band is that Anvil's story really isn't about metal at all. It's about the creation of an art form. It's about the unending heartbreak of the music industry, and playing music for the love of music rather than of money, and the mysterious formula that dictates why some bands become famous while other equally talented bands never break through. And sure, OK, it's also about rocking out. Which is exactly what audiences at Friday and Saturday night's screenings of "Anvil!" did. My favorite part - besides seeing Michael get his metal on - was running into the band later downtown, where lead vocalist/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudrow told us, with sweet sincerity and utter conviction, that the reason the band never gave up is "because we are rockers. This is what we do. It's who we are. How can you stop being who you are?" I almost took up the guitar right there on the spot.

Anvil performs at Lars Hockstad Auditorium

Giving Madonna a Warm Michigan Welcome - It's difficult to convey to those not working behind the scenes exactly how much preparation and planning went into readying the festival for Madonna's appearance. We had no idea what to expect. Paparazzi, protests, aggressive fans - we were prepared for it all. It was a relief, then, and a great testament to the people of Traverse City that the event went off without a hitch. Madge received as warm a welcome as we could have possibly hoped for; the crowd even sang Happy Birthday to her after the screening of "I Am Because We Are" in celebration of her upcoming 50th birthday. That type of reception will make it easy for the festival to invite other A-list guests in the future, and made me personally proud to be part of such a classy and welcoming community.

Michael and Madonna in front of the State Theatre

Meeting the Minds (And Hearts) Behind the Films - One of the great, unique aspects of TCFF compared to other festivals is how accessible the filmmakers are. Whether you're working as a volunteer or simply attending a film or two during the fest, you will likely have an opportunity at some point to speak to one of the guests. The conversations I had while working with various directors and actors and crew this year left an indelible impression on me. Whether it was John Walter ("Theater of War"), a very dry and funny guy, chatting about his experiences growing up in southern Michigan, or Robert Celestino ("Yonkers Joe") admitting for the first time that the character of his film was based on his father, or Nathan Rissman and Philippe van den Bossche ("I Am Because We Are") discussing with passionate intensity their experiences working in Africa, the personal interaction I and others had with these filmmakers provided an illuminating perspective on how and why the films we screened had been made. It was especially inspiring to meet other young people who had created compelling works of cinema, like Danny Evans ("War, Love, God & Madness") or Jason Pollock ("The Youngest Candidate") or Amin Matalqa ("Captain Abu Raed"). And based on the responses I heard, the guests loved the experience of being here as much as the audiences loved having them. We heard amazing feedback from all of the filmmakers that TCFF was one of the best organized, best programmed and most friendly festivals they've ever attended. Part of that is thanks to Michael and Deb and the volunteers, and part of that is thanks to you - to the moviegoers who show up, pay close attention to these artists' deeply personal expressions, and treat each filmmaker with warmth and dignity and respect.

Filmmakers take the stage at the Wed. discussion panel

Bonding With the Volunteers - To paraphrase an old expression: "It takes a village to raise a festival." The importance of the volunteers cannot be overstated - without them, TCFF simply wouldn't exist. As someone who's both worked with old friends during the festival and made new ones with fellow volunteers, I can say with certainty that you don't really know someone until you've worked alongside them in the TCFF trenches. I don't mean trenches in a negative sense - there's a reason people return year after year to work the festival, and it's because they deeply love what they do. But it is without a doubt a tremendous amount of work, and what makes that work meaningful and enjoyable is the close relationships you build with your fellow volunteers. It is truly like a family. The festival in-jokes, the warm greetings as you whiz by each other on your bikes downtown, the knowing exchange of weary smiles after six days without sleep, the laughter, the sweat, the tears - no experience I've ever partaken in has had quite the power to unite and bond people together than putting on a festival of this magnitude. It's why the Volunteer Party is so special every year. It's our opportunity to look back on the week, raise a toast and say, "Look at what we accomplished together. We made all this happen." It's an incredible feeling, and an inspiring one.

TCFF volunteers celebrate the end of another great festival