BZD Films

Congratulations to Brian and Val, who were married on the 8th. The two of them have been together as long as I’ve known them, and were always clearly in love. Since I wasn’t able to make it down there this last weekend, it seemed only just and fair that I lead a cheer from the UK. So: ¡Olé!, Cheers!, Bravo!, and About Time! from me. And a thousand felicitations of the sort one finds written on confetti and fortune cookies and nowhere else.

When I first met Brian, he and Val had already somehow arranged to live together in the Uni dorms. Everything was an approximation of what later became official in their new apartment in Vancouver: there was the laptop propped up on the table, always either displaying or in the process of editing a movie, a blinking stack of hard drives that may have, combined, served a similar function to a brave little hot plate that was forever blowing fuses and producing magical, spontaneous, always delicious vegetariana. There was a portfolio somewhere, hiding photographs that had not yet graduated to the walls or, after the move into Vancouver, byzantine sculptures of PVC and metal. There was probably a photo of Kirk and Spock too, and oh, the Kindertoys! Every time I visited, often to get my ass kicked in this board game or that, there was a boldness to their home that never exceeded the comfort of being there.

The two of them make such a good team. It’s only official now that they’re married and have complementary degrees. It’s like those husband/wife teams you see in the movies (movies that they will no doubt be creating together): groom tackles bearded villain, distracting him long enough for bride to tie him up and leave him for the cops. That almost invisible speck you saw on Brian’s cuff before the vows? Near miss with a hungry bullet. Not a hair out of place on Val’s head but maybe a little sweat from kung-fu. These guys (the Danins, I can call them now, right?) are good. And they’re savvy. The way they balanced their budgets was a freaking masterpiece. I’m not kidding. They funded a whole film festival while I was still on the teat. Businessman-producer and media lawyer? Damn straight. Married? Well, duh.

Basically, I want to thank the two of them for doing what was right. There’s not a thing in the world that makes more sense than their union. And I want to thank them for sticking with me even when they could have easily drifted away. In fact, our whole friendship basically contradicts the normal rules of University buddy-ups which tend to fade like they’ve been left too long in the sun. I mean, I’m in England and they’re over on the East Coast for goodness’s sake.

I want you to know, Brian and Val, that I think it’s perfect, and that one day… one day… I will beat you at Puerto Rico.