Oskar

So, this evening I was doing an intro and Q&A with Oskar Alegria, whose (delightful) film The Search for Emak Bakia was screening at EIFF. The only problem was that Oskar is Spanish, and the Euro 2012 semi-final between Spain and Portugal was also taking place, with his screening beginning during half time. I told the audience this during the intro, and joked that if the game went to extra time we might not make it back for the post-screening Q&A. Then Oskar and I went for some food and drinks and to watch the rest of the game while the audience watched his film.

At full time it was 0-0. With ten minutes of extra time to go it was still 0-0, and we had to go back to the cinema to get ready for the Q&A. Our projectionist, Ali, got the game streaming on the computer in the projection box, so Oskar could watch it right up until his film ended and we had to be on stage. At the end of extra time, it was still 0-0 and was going to be decided by penalties, but the film was finished and we had to go. So Ali said he'd keep watching and let us know what was happening during the Q&A.

Now, with many films I wouldn't do this, but The Search for Emak Bakia is very playful and we decided to have some fun, so I explained the situation to the audience and proceeded with the Q&A. After a couple of questions Ali appeared at the back of the auditorium to inform us it was 3-2 to Spain, then a few minutes later he returned to tell us the final score was 4-2 and Spain were through to the final. There were cheers from the audience, I shook Oskar's hand, and we continued with the Q&A. :-)