THUNDER BAY -- Despite Thursday's power outage, organizers are calling the annual Northwest Film Festival a great success.
Along with 2,000 south side residences, the blackout left film fanatics at Silvercity in the dark during the screening of director Julian Jarrold's A Royal Night Out. It was the first time a power failure has interrupted the festival in its 23-year history.
North of Superior Film Association president Marty Mascarin said staff were able to adapt to the incident. One of the films had arrived in Thunder Bay damaged, leaving a hole in the festival's schedule organizers were able to fill by re-running A Royal Night Out in its place.
"Fortunately a negative occurrence turned into a positive one," said Mascarin,
Beyond that challenge, most of the feedback Mascarin received during the festival was anectodally positive. He said movie-goers cherished the opportunity to see films that either passed over or briefly screened in Thunder Bay upon their release.
"This year, we happened to have some very interesting titles that were out there so we explored some new genres that we don't normally deal with, like science fiction, for example," he said.
"A wider selection tends to generate a real film interest, enthusiasm and excitement about the titles we offer."
Mascarin said it's too soon to speculate on next year's festival but the film association will be holding a review meeting to assess this year's strengths and weaknesses.
