In its 13th year of operation, the Philadelphia Film Festival's 2004 campaign officially ended Wednesday.
The event, which began April 8, featured the screening of nearly 300 movies filmed in 43 different countries. Four venues citywide participated in the showing of these works, including the Bridge: Cinema de Lux at 40th and Walnut streets.
Estimated attendance of the event was 61,000 viewers, up about 3,500 from last year's number.
"It was a huge success," said Andrew Preis, director of media relations at the Philadelphia Film Society, the group that produced the festival. "The fact that we had so many more people coming out [for the event] says something about the programming, and we're really pleased with that."
Bridge spokeswoman Jennifer Hanson agreed.
"From our perspective, it was a tremendous success," Hanson said. "There was a great variety of products offered at the festival, and the strong turnout can be attributed to that."
Preis echoed Hanson's statement, noting that "it's the diversity of our films that really makes us different and attracts people."
Screened works fell into a number of different categories, including foreign films, horror flicks, and regional and independent works. Documentaries dominated the festival, claiming three of the top four prizes.
Lightning Bug, a U.S.-based drama that won Best Feature, set a new record for festival attendance.
"Lightning Bug brought over 900" viewers, Preis said. "This is the first time that a film has brought in that many."
Among the festival attendees were several Penn students, many of whom praised the event and the films offered.
College freshman Josef Fruehwald noted the uniqueness of the festival films.
"Your average film, it's usually kind of cookie-cutter. ... They're pretty much all the same," said Fruehwald, who sat in on Monday night's viewing of Truth and Lies at the Bridge. The festival's works "are just more unique they're different from all the typical films that are out there."
College junior Josh Gorin agreed, further noting that the festival offers moviegoers a different kind of cinema experience.
"I think that having the film festival [in Philadelphia] really raises awareness of films you wouldn't normally see in your typical Hollywood movie theaters," Gorin said.
Winner of the Best Undergraduate Comedy award at the IvyFilm Festival for his piece Winning Caroline, Gorin emphasized the high quality of many festival films despite their lack of Hollywood-level resources.
Festival work Super Size Me a film analyzing health and obesity in the United States is "a good example of how you don't need a ton of money to make an entertaining movie," Gorin said.
Despite the festival's success this year, Preis said that the Philadelphia Film Society will not attempt to expand the event for 2005.
"I think our director has said, 'If it's not broke, don't fix it,'" Preis said. "We've been playing with the festival model for years, and we've got one that really works now, and one that people like."
