A year ago, I attended my first FIAF Congress in Skopje, Macedonia. This year, the proceedings took place in Sydney and Canberra, Australia, and as actual affiliates of the group, we were entitled to send a representative. Having been to New Zealand twice, I was intrigued to visit Australia, and though I saw what seemed like less than one percent of the country, it was still a great trip. I also used the trip as an excuse to watch about two dozen of the best Australian films of the last 50 years, which was a terrific way to spend the winter on the treadmill.
I flew to Sydney via Los Angeles, where I spent a great 24 hour layover hanging out with old friends (Keith, Janet, Michael, and families, as well as Caroline and a whole gang of Academy colleagues), squeezing in trips to Wurstküche, Fosters Freeze, and Loteria, as well. The flight from L.A. wasn’t bad, and I arrived in Sydney well rested and ready to go. I had a few days before the congress started, so I took a day trip to the Blue Mountains, visited just about every museum in Sydney, and got to see some of the city’s great neighborhoods like Surry Hills and Darlinghurst.
