Outfest 2012: My closing thoughts

The day after closing night of Outfest, I always have mixed feelings. I’m happy to not be burning the candle at both ends trying to catch as many movies and events as I can but I immediately miss the magic of seeing old friends, meeting new people and best of all, getting lost in all the stories on screen.

I became a blogger back in the summer of 2006 because of Outfest. I was an entertainment reporter for the LA Daily News and decided to create a blog to write about Outfest called Out In Hollywood, the precursor to Greg In Hollywood which launched in early 2009.

I bring this all up because at this Outfest, more than any other before, I met more readers than ever and it was a real treat. Whether it was a volunteer collecting tickets or someone sitting behind me at a movie, a lot of people said hello this year and I really felt, more than ever before, that we are in this together.

Sunday recap: I’m always on the lookout for stars to get a photo or interview with. Alan Cumming took a nice photo of the two of us on Sunday after the awards brunch and was as nice and charming as ever.

Squeezed in a Q&A with Vito director Jeffrey Schwarz followed by a hilarious panel for ABC’s Happy Endings (post on this still to come!)

Then in the evening, I barely made it to the closing night program at Ford Ampitheatre on time because the parking lot was full and I had to take a shuttle in. Thankfully, my new friend Casey had saved a seat for me in the seventh row so we sat with some of the cast of the film Struck By Lightning including the very funny Rebel Wilson.

The film was written by and starred Chris Colfer who was awfully cute as he introduced the film to the sold out crowd.

It’s a good film was a nice way to end the festival. Colfer showed a much sharper edge than we see in his Kurt Hummel character on Glee. He wrote himself a terrific part! And he wrote a great role for Allison Janney who plays his mother. Wow.

I saw a lot of good movies over the 12 days with my favorite non-documentary films being Morgan, Petunia, and Any Day Now. But the three movies that really had an impact on my life were a trio of unforgettable documentaries that I hope will seen by every gay person: Vito, How to Survive a Plague, and United in Anger: A History of ACT UP.

I feel changed after seeing these movies in ways that I am still processing.

It was an unforgettable Outfest.