The Circuit

Janet Pierson watched the New York indie film scene unfold from the front lines.  Now in Austin with her husband John (author, film rep, UT prof) and their family, she blogged about her return to Manhattan - an anniversary she and John share every year for the New York Film Festival. 

Thursday, I was driving around Austin, happy, thinking about how much I love it here. Friday, at the crack of dawn, I flew to NYC. As my cab crossed the East River onto 53rd Street, a street very familiar from my youth, I felt an intense exhilaration. Not a conscious decision, but a bubbling up from somewhere very deep inside. Oh god, how much I love New York! The weather was perfect; sunny and warm, but I don't know, a good 10, 15, 20 degrees cooler than Austin. I get to our hotel, The Dream on 55th, a new experiment this year. Pretentious but adorable, perfectly situated for the weekend's activities.

Rusty with my subway lines, the concierge directs me to the R train at the end of the block which takes me straight to Prince and Broadway. The night before I'd thought, if only I'd had the time to see Joni, how wonderful that would be. Walking west on Spring to get to my 2:15pm coffee, I look to my right and see her husband crossing the street. He's only the first of several directors I'll see this weekend that I consider among my closest friends.