Here’s a shocker: the evite is a phenomenon that I have never been completely comfortable with. My opinion was (and still to some degree is) that people shouldn't know before hand who is going to a party because 1) they might be inclined to not go based on the number/quality of the people and 2) it kills the element of surprise (on the other hand for all those stalkers out there - you know who you are - I'm sure it's been a godsend). But it has slightly grown on me as effective means of setting up a party/event - mostly because of the addition of the hidden guest list feature which allows you to mass email your guests and note who's coming while avoiding the aforementioned pitfalls.

However, I have recently discovered newfound joy in the evite, and I owe it all to NewFest. Put simply - it's the perfect tool for navigating a film festival. Two reasons. First an evite is much friendlier then a hard invite or jpeg in an email - it makes the event feel like a gathering of friends rather than some high falutin’ party (yes, i said high falutin’ - deal). Second, it gives you a nifty way to organize all the festival's parties in one space without the annoyance of having to create and/or track down a party grid - if done right you can instantly map out your entire festivals party schedule all in one place, all with complete ease and assurance you are on the guest list, and with reminders so you don't forget (well, the reminders can be a bit much, but then people do forget). So thank you to all those wonderful people at NewFest. Your genius is appreciated.