Recently, we enjoyed spending a day at the 37th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. It has been a few years since my husband and I visited the festival and we were not disappointed. First, we brought my 90-year-old mother with us and the staff at multiple venues went out of its way to secure her comfort and safety. Second, I really loved the wide variety of films screened at this year’s festival.
My husband selected three very different types of films and I give him an A+ for his selections. All three films held my attention. We saw Young Mothers, Frontier and Hello Betty.
Young Mothers takes place in Liege Belgium and shows the obstacles, including drug addiction, neglect and breaking the cycle of poverty, a varied group of young mothers faces at a maternity shelter.
My favorite of the three was Frontier which is a period-piece that takes place in Spain near the French border in 1943. The locals risk their lives to help French Jews escape the Nazis.
The first two films were really intense so I enjoyed the slightly less intense tone of Hello Betty. Plus, it was enjoyable to hear the Swiss film director speak about the film and what inspired him. The film was a bit of a shock to me. I did not realize that Swiss women were unable to vote until 1971. In addition, women needed written permission from their husbands in order to work. The movie takes place in the 1950s and tells the true story behind the female copywriter who created the Swiss version of Betty Crocker – Betty Bossi.
For a lunch break, we went to my favorite – Shermans. Shermans is an amazing Jewish deli and never disappoints me. I love this place for everything from bagels with lox to hot pastrami sandwiches. The rye bread and pickles are always a highlight. Shermans has been around since 1953 and has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
NO time for boredom today 
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