by David Chapman
Staff Writer
What was enough in 2007 will have to be enough in 2008 for the Jacksonville Film Festival.
That was the decision passed down from board members of the Tourist Development Council during its quarterly meeting Thursday, when it awarded the festival $6,050 this year — the same as last year.
The $6,050 is comprised of $5,000 from the TDC Festival Fund, an annual $75,000 fund for small events, and $1,050 from the TDC operating account.
Organizers of the festival were requesting $13,050, a $7,000 increase.
According to new Film Festival Executive Director Jesse Rodriguez, the increase was to help market the event to cities within driving distance of Jacksonville including Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Savannah and Atlanta. Driving to town for the festival, he said, would increase festival attendance as well as increase hotel figures.
Attendance should also increase dramatically, he said, because of the many world film premiers.
Money distributed by TDC to events is collected from a county bed-tax, with a specific formula determining how much is funded by the amount of room nights an event brings in.
Last year, the event brought 157 room nights to the Hyatt, said Rodriguez. This year, he said, the festival can guarantee 300 beds but projects 400.
It wasn’t enough to sway the board members to grant additional funding. After Council member Mia Jones made a motion to match the festival’s funding from last year, the board approved.
Rodriguez though, isn’t concerned.
“I’m not disappointed,” he said. “We’re just happy to receive the support that we get from TDC.”
The decision, said Rodriguez, means that organizers will ramp up their fund-raising effort and have to cancel some of the special events that were planned for the week, but that the marketing plan isn’t affected much.
“We’re still going to be using the strong marketing mediums and bring in people from out of town,” he said.
The Jacksonville Film Festival is being held May 15-21.
Other news and grant approvals from the TDC meeting:
• Gator Bowl Association President Rick Catlett gave a report and presentation. He said the budget for a grant application for the Florida State-Colorado college football game later this year wasn’t complete and will be presented at the TDC’s next quarterly meeting in May. Until then, a line item in TDC funding was changed. The $250,000 already earmarked for the now-departed ACC Championship game is slated to be used for the FSU-CU game. “I believe The FSU-Colorado game will be as successful as the FSU-Alabama game,” said Council President Daniel Davis. “I know the citizens of Jacksonville and the hoteliers would be very receptive to those opportunities.”
• $6,000 for the U.S. Club Soccer National VII Cup 2008 May 24-26. The money is slated for marketing and advertising. The same organization was denied a grant last year.
• $8,000 for a Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group annual conference May 24-26. The money is slated for marketing and advertising. The conference was held in China in 2006 and will be held in Heidelberg, Germany next year.
• $10,000 for a Jacksonville Junior Volleyball Association Volleyball Series April 12-13 and April 19-20. The association will be hosting a series of tournaments, with the money slated to offset venue rental fees.
• $3,027 for the 19th International Conference on Teaching & Learning April 14-18. The money is slated for marketing and advertising.
• $13,500 for the 137th Annual Grand Session of the Most Worshipful Union Grand Lodge April 10-18. The money is slated for transportation and advertising.
• $10,000 for the 1st Annual City League International at Jacksonville. The equestrian event will be held at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center April 17-20. The money is slated for advertising and marketing.