Ever wanted to hob-nob with local industry movers and shakers? Well then, last night the Flaunt It party at the Edgewater Casino was the place to be.  Vancouver's DJ-Jhun was spinning the latest music and the venue was lounge-like with cushy seating and groups of people mingling.  When I arrived after the screening of Kissing Cousins, the party was not quite yet in full swing, as there was a late encore screening of Ping Pong Playa.  The crowd at Tinseltown that night was the busiest I'd seen all festival, with the lineup winding out of the theatre to the escalators.  Volunteers flittered around, speaking rapidly into their headphones. 

However, at the club, all was relaxed.  There were free beer tastings and that seemed the spot to catch all the attendees as they checked their coats and headed for a drink.  There was even a special VIP section with roped off booths.  The great thing about VAFF was that everyone was very approachable and always open to taking a picture, or answering a few questions.  Over our free tasters I got to chatting about the industry and dating with Kissing Cousins director Amyn Kaderali.  Kaderali seemed slightly angry still about the difficulties he faced in bringing a movie featuring South Asians to life, stating that often the film was dismissed simply as "oh that's an Indian movie" rather than being evaluated on its own merits.  He also talked about the difficulties of developing a script while simultaneously working on other projects, saying he'd use what little spare time he had writing the film's script.  On a lighter note however, Kaderali expressed amusement that a professional breakup service actually existed in Japan and also that some viewers of the film actually wanted the cousins to stay together!   I think I'll just keep my thoughts quiet on that one!