Big blockbuster hits and some local short films had about 500 moviegoers waiting in line for the early morning showings at this year’s film festival.
The 19th annual Northwest Film Fest opened the doors to Famous Players Silver City around 9 a.m. for the first few feature films. Margin Call started the festival at 9:50 a.m. followed by Monsieur Lazhar at 10:05 a.m.
North of Superior Film Association President Marty Mascarin said they have had a steady stream of people coming in to see the movies. He guessed that about 500 people came in to see the first few films alone and only expected more to come for the afternoon and evening shows.
“So far so good,” Mascarin said. “Given that we have two theatres compared to four, I think our audience has adapted. I think what our patrons are looking at now is that they have to look even harder now at the schedule. The patron response has been very enthusiastic. They are loving the films.”
Mascarin said there were a few hiccups they were quickly resolved. He said he was happy to hear from moviegoers that it wasn’t a bit deal and that they instead wanted to focus more on the film than any problems.
An added feature to the film festival line up was the inclusion of short local films.
The local and regional films included:
• Clicker directed and written by Andrew Paulsen
• Eagle vs Sparrow produced by Dryden high School
• Schism directed by Curtis Jensen
• Love and Hate directed and written by Piotr Skowronski
Mascarin said a member of NSFA made contact with the filmmakers and were able to bring it all together. He said it’s nice to show off some local talent.
He added that Monsieur Lazhar seemed to be the most popular film so far.
Most movie patrons came early to see the next batch of cinematic splendors.
Delene Nelson waited in line about half hour before the movie Poetry was scheduled to start. She said she wanted to see that film because it wasn’t a North American movie and would show another culture.
She said she’s been to nearly all the film festivals since it started.
“I guess I go to the festival to see movies we wouldn’t get to see otherwise,” Nelson said.
This year the festival reduced the number of theatres from four to two. Nelson said she didn’t mind the change but hoped it didn’t hurt any future film festivals.
Willenien Prinselaar has also come to nearly all the film festivals and came early to watch Poetry as well. She said the film looked interesting because it was about a Korean woman who struggles to find herself.
Prinselaar said she missed having the opportunity to stretch out the film festival into a weekend long activity like it was in previous years. She said she’s sometimes limited to the number of films she can see because of other commitments.
“I really enjoyed the whole weekend and we were able to see six or more movies,” Prinselaar said. “There’s some time constraints. It’s unfortunate. There’s excellent films and excellent choices.”
The film festival continues next Sunday with A Separation at 9:50 a.m. and Shame at 10:05 a.m.
The full schedule is available at the North of Superior Film Association website.
