Traverse City Record-Eagle

Opinion

July 27, 2009

Editorial: Film Festival exceeds wildest expectations

When filmmaker Michael Moore and some friends suggested the Traverse City Film Festival in 2005, reactions were all over the map.

Film lovers -- including most Michael Moore fans -- thought it was great. Showing a few good films in the old State Theatre and maybe the City Opera House and Old Town Playhouse in late July sounded like fun, a nice diversion after the Cherry Festival.

People who were no fans of Moore's politics also weren't crazy about showing what they suspected would be a bunch of liberal-leaning art house movies. If downtown retailers made a buck, fine, but count them out.

Today, as the fifth season kicks off, the festival has matured well beyond what both backers and critics likely expected five years ago. Yes, the six days of film are still king, but the organization has grown way past its roots.

The festival itself has become a must-see for movie lovers across the country and across the globe, rivaling even some better-known, long-established events. At the same time, the State Theatre has been transformed into not only a beautiful structure but one of the premier art house theaters in the country.

All but the staunchest critics have been won over. Moore has stuck to his 2005 promise of "just great movies" and, more importantly to doubters, his organization has become an economic engine that rivals even the Cherry Festival. Downtown Traverse City has been given a major shot in the arm by not only the festival but the fact that the State is now open -- and drawing crowds downtown -- all year long.

The festival has, in short, met or exceeded every goal. The rejuvenation of the State has been the cherry on top. As of last November, the theater announced that 140,000 people had attended more than 1,500 events and 300 different films there in the year since it reopened, not including the film festival.

That's a jaw-dropping figure -- an average of nearly 400 people per day, every day, spending untold amounts of money. In April, that number had soared to an even more incredible 250,000 people.

Given all that has happened since 2005 it's easy to forget that the films are what this is all about. The directors, the seminars, the film school and more are all secondary to the 80,000 or so people who will come to watch the 70 features and 50 shorts, plus five films screened for free on a massive outdoor screen at the Open Space, starting today.

Enjoy. And imagine what the next five years may bring.

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Editorial: Film Festival exceeds wildest expectations
by Anonymous , , Mon Jul 27, 2009, 10:31 PM EDT

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