As I look back on a lot of the films I’ve had the privilege to watch, I realize this year was one for working out all the pent up issues we’ve been feeling over the past few years. Whether that’s staring it in the face, laughing at it, or just making something really weird to get all the ick out… there’ve been a huge number of tender-hearted and emotionally raw films and it’s made my job pretty hard. Going through a lot of emotional crap (and I do mean crap) myself, it’s difficult to experience catharsis from so many viewpoints and not come out not feeling depleted… empty of tears, energy and emotion. Rough stuff. I cherish funny and lighthearted films now much more than before, but there are so few of them being released. It’s a time to air out our deep downs and it’ll just be tough for a while… but it’s better than keeping it inside.