by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Film Festival isn’t just getting older. The event – and the city’s reputation as a movie-making spot – may be gaining popularity and prestige, as well.
Several film screenings sold out at last weekend’s festival, including locally-filmed “Lonely Hearts,” “Cocaine Angel” and “jumping off bridges.” Saturday night’s Grey Goose Gala sold out, as well, and screenings were added to the schedule throughout the weekend to meet audience demand.
Jean Tait, executive director of JFF, said the festival’s never been so busy. They’ve sold out small venues in San Marco before, she said, but never the 1,900 seats of the Florida Theatre.
“To see the lines of people at theaters, to have sold out seating, it really illustrates just how far we’ve come,” said Liz Morgan, spokeswoman for the festival. “This year it just clicked. Almost every single screening had a full house.”
Tait attributed the increased turnout to the growing reputation of the festival, which just completed its fourth year. She said filmmakers have told her Jacksonville’s Southern hospitality makes it their favorite festival location. Some – like Mischa Livingstone, whose short “Barbara Jean” screened at the 2005 festival – have expressed interest in shooting their next projects here, Tait said.
Todd Roobin, head of the Jacksonville Film and Television Office, said each festival exposes a new crop of filmmakers and film fans to Jacksonville. As the festival draws in better quality films and bigger crowds, Roobin said more filmmakers leave impressed and spread the word on to others.
Film projects can bring a lot of money into the area, according to Roobin. When “Lonely Hearts” was filmed last year, for example, it brought along about $3 million in jobs, housing, location rentals and other expenses.
“I really think there’s room to grow each and every year,” said Roobin. “It (this year’s festival) was an immense success, and that momentum will carry forward to next year.”
Some Downtown businesses said they saw business increase during the festival, while others said they were disappointed by the turnout.
The Hyatt had a busy weekend, according to Gary Gotling, the hotel’s sales and marketing director.
“Whenever there are concerts and festivals, we’re seeing a huge spike,” said Gotling.
Other businesses saw some increased foot traffic during the festival, but less than what they’d hoped for.
“I was expecting something a little bit more,” said Maria Jones, owner of Tiara Shoes and Accessories. Her store is located less than a block away from the Main Library, which was “Festival Central” this year. She said she asked some of the people if they were in town for the film festival, and they didn’t know what she was talking about.
Other business owners, like Susann Marino of Shugar Shack Chocolatier, said they saw no change at all.
“It didn’t help me,” said Marino. “It was too spread out.”
Marino said many of her Downtown friends and neighbors complained that the San Marco area received most of the foot traffic and retail spending – in spite of the library’s Festival Central status.
Several events, such as the Twisted Martini’s official gala after party, a Downtown Rocks! party in Hemming Plaza and the “Lonely Hearts” premiere and awards ceremony were scheduled on the Northbank. A film festival doesn’t necessarily bring a lot of people into the streets, Morgan said.
“Because of the nature of the film festivals, people are in the films for much of the day and into the night,” she said. “I talked to some people who saw 19 films over the weekend and really planned out their entire days.”
Morgan said the festival is mainly intended for people who live in Jacksonville. She added, however, that tourism from nearby cities like Orlando and Tallahassee keeps growing – and it’s certainly appreciated.
Statistics for the festival’s attendance and revenue should be released in a week or so, Morgan said. Roobin said the JFF board will reassess how everything went soon and look at “strengths and weaknesses.”
The real planning for next year’s festival will begin in September, according to Tait, when film submissions start rolling in.