Dazzling sunshine and endless, transparent blue skies. Los Angeles, USA--the movie capital of the world, revered by movie-lovers everywhere. After half a day of shuddering with great expectations, anxiety, and turbulence, I arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. The reason I was in Los Angeles was, of course, for the double screening of my short movie Gateball--a work I labored on during my last summer vacation at university--first at the RES10 Exhibition, and then at the Newport Beach Film Festival. What an extravagant story. After a quick shower to drive away my jet lag, it was off to Newport Beach, where the brilliant sunshine woke me up straight away. The city, 50 kilometers south of Los Angeles, has a giant harbor frequented by hundreds of cruisers and is one of California's top resorts. For the next ten days it would set the stage for the Newport Beach Film Festival, which was to kick off that day with an opening ceremony. After an hour's ride in an unfamiliar car down unfamiliar roads, we somehow arrived at the festival headquarters. After receiving my pass and brochures, we confirmed where I was to stay that night. I had been unable to set a schedule for my trip until just before I left Japan, and I still didn't even know which hotel I was going to stay at. The film festival staff also looked busy--it was opening day, after all. They handed us an address, and we drove another half hour or so until we reached what looked like a normal house. We cautiously walked through the door, and were greeted by people inside. I thought, what in the world was this place? as I was shown to my room. I later found out that the festival staff had been kind enough to arrange for me to stay in a villa owned by someone involved with the event. That meant the people who greeted me at the door were also guests from Florida, Vancouver, Las Vegas, and from all over the world invited to attend this film festival. After a quick chat, I got ready, donned my suit, and set out for the hotel where the opening ceremony was to take place. The hotel was already brimming with people. There were even limousines--surely a symbol of America--as well as people dressed in tuxedos. The buffet-style party went on till early morning, and I have to say that the jetlag and the unfamiliar vodka (provided free, courtesy of a film festival sponsor!) went straight to my head. When I came to, it was already morning...