The Market and the Film Festival

Wednesdays seem to roll around quicker and quicker. Blink! And another week has gone by. Yesterday’s market was as social as ever, so along with catching up with friends, we loaded our baskets with lots of flowers and good things to eat.
The tomatoes look and taste better every week. There are fagiolini (green beans) everywhere, although today’s local newspaper ran an article that told us we could sleep easy because the fagiolini quality was excellent, but the prices were the highest they had ever been. The peach harvest is getting closer and closer; while last week the peaches were from the south, this week they were from the Adriatic coast.  I keep driving by our local orchard and looking at the trees, but I think that we are at least a week away from the first harvest.

Back in town, everyone was scurrying around to prepare for the Umbria Film Festival. By 6:30 pm, parking was at a premium, the big screen was set up, chairs were arranged in rows, the wind had died down and the hum of people in the street was getting louder and louder.
We had our opening night dinner party with dear friends, and I think the chatter and laughter coming from our kitchen window certainly contributed to the noise factor in town!
Nothing could compare to last year’s festival when the World Cup pre-empted all other events going on in the entire country of Italy.  Taking advantage of the big screen, and somehow getting a satellite hook up, we all sat together and watched Italy become Champions of the World!
This year’s festival has gone much more high tech. Instead of a screen, precariously strung between the buildings, we have a very sturdy screen, mounted to very sturdy, but slightly too short legs.  And in instead of the film reel ending, and the sound of someone running upstairs to change reels, we have a massive projector van seamlessly showing the films.  Personally, I liked the little break between reels. 
So, here is the conundrum: Is it better to artificially preserve the ‘quaintness’ of our festival, or do we embrace the higher technology?  I say artificially preserve because we have the means and tools to present a more polished, sophisticated film experience, but have we lost some of the local flavor?   I suppose we shouldn’t wallow in nostalgia, and since it was a standing room only crowd, I have nothing to complain about.

Buon viaggio to John and Libby! They’ve left Montone, and are on their way back to the Stati Uniti.  I’m sure that reuniting with Zucca will make coming home a lot happier.  We’ll miss you guys, but you’ll be back before you know it!