It’s that time again, where we prepare to celebrate the dawning of another year. And many of us proceed with hopes, plans and dreams to guide us on our journey ahead.

New Year’s Resolutions (NYR). They can comprise almost anything from losing weight and quitting smoking to embarking on travel, changing jobs, pursuing a new career or returning to study. They can even include terminating an incumbent relationship, rekindling an old romance or sparking a new connection.

Whatever the resolution, it is often easier said than done. Stipulating a goal or objective is one thing, but implementing and seeing it through is quite another, requiring focus, determination, stamina and discipline.  All of which, of course, are contingent on time and energy. Those, ethereal, fleeting entities on which we increasingly depend but find ourselves in short supply.

A compulsive diarist, I recently rummaged through my files and managed to locate my 2012 NYR. Among the numerous goals that I had set for myself were the following:

1. Watch every DVD and Blu-ray Disc in your collection: if the Mayan Calendar is anything to go by, 2012 will be your last year to do so.

2. Review as many films as you can.

As it turned out, only one of these resolutions actually came to fruition. While the world did not end as some pundits anticipated – with prophesies concerning the Mayan Calender proving incredulous, preposterous and risible, yet again –  time did not permit the viewing of every DVD in my unwieldy collection. As fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld shrewdly observes, ‘With every book you buy, you should buy the time to read it’. I think the same can be said about DVDs and Blu-rays.

Fortunately, time did grant me the resources this year to compile a handful of reviews and essays that now appear on Projektor. I was also blessed, during this festive season, to experience the immense generosity of spirit and display of support for these writings from fellow film enthusiasts. To all of you, I would like to say this: Grazie, dankeschön, merci beaucoup, gracias, arigatou gozaimasu. However you phrase it, the sentiment rings true across languages: Thank You.

Whatever your resolution, on the eve of 2013 as we count down the hours and minutes to a brave new year, here’s looking forward to a fertile, fruitful and life-affirming journey ahead.

A journey that, for Yours Truly, will involve broadening Projektor’s horizon by focusing on a wider selection of motion pictures from all corners of our brilliant, cerulean planet.

From my family to yours, I wish you all a rapturous and prosperous New Year.

–  Dr. Varga Hosseini