I was very keen on attending the talk and the showing of "The Horse Boy" which is a movie about an autistic boy healing journey, as I work with parents of autistic children to find ways of healing them.
Since I haven't lived in NYC for a while, I miscalculated and arrived late for the 7:55 show, which included a live talk with the author. I asked the cash person if I had missed the talk with the author, and he reassured me that I hadn't, since the talk was going to take place at the end of the showing. So I bought a ticket for the next showing, and stayed close to the theater so I could go in at the time of the talk.
When that time came, the girl inside the theater insisted that I was not to go in the screening room. I must stand outside the theater, or by the roped area where the author was to autograph his book.
People were walking in and out of the screening room, so it clearly wasn't a question of sold out space or disturbing the talk.
I told her that I would be happy to pay extra so I could attend the talk, and she told me that it was not a question of price, it was a question of rules, my ticket was for the 10:00 show, and therefore I was not to go in.
"Please give me a reason why?" to which her answer was "These are the rules, and that's it."
She even tried to forcibly grab my movie ticket out of my hand telling me she would be glad to refund me the show price.
I went outside, a bit shaken, and feeling really disgusted by the whole thing, I finally asked to be reimbursed of both shows I had bought, for today and another day.
A "The Rules are the Rules" is a very dangerous mentality to have. It leads to police states.
The IFC is showing independent films. Shouldn't they be promoting independent thinking?
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