Monday night's adventures began with a screening of Planting the Seeds. This new animation piece from Takashi Murakami was projected onto the Lake of Dreams, the outdoor waterfall venue at the Wynn Las Vegas. In this episode, the characters Kaikai and Kiki embark on a watermelon farming adventure where they learn about new exciting fertilization methods. So far, the short film has only been shown as part of Murakami's touring mid-career retrospective. Sadly, I missed it while it was in LA, so it was a treat to see the piece in such a unique setting.

Jon Korn, Robert Abele and filmmaker Jonás Cuarón (Ano Una - The Year of the Nail) enjoying a good glass of scotch at the Wynn.

The ladies of the juries: Pioneer Docs Juror Tamara Krinsky, La Próxoma Ola Jurors Shaz Bennett and Ana Maria Montero

The evening ended with karoake at Ellis Island with a number of fest attendees and staffers beltin' into the mic.
Yes, I sang.
It wasn't pretty.
But when a Jersey girl is offered Bon Jovi, she doesn't turn it down.

BWR's Kate Payne, CineVegas Associate Director of Programming Mike Plante & Beautiful Losers co-director Joshua Leonard.

Michael Lerman singing "I'm So Excited"

Filmmaker Landon Zakheim rockin' out to "Gloria" (it was The Doors version, although this pose is a bit more Laura Branigan)