Film festival is a hit with merchants

By DAWN McELLIGOTT

MILFORD, PA — The Tom Quick Inn, site of the Black Bear Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala, was booked for the weekend, according to Jeanine Silvani, co-owner of the hotel. “It was nice to see a lot of out-of-town people here,” she said.

The celluloid celebration centered around The Milford Theater. The choice of films shown at the theater reflected the expertise of the festival’s new programmer, Joe Revitte. Gold pass owners and opening night ticket holders were treated to a sneak preview of “The Human Stain.” The film, starring Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins, opens nationwide on October 31st.

Across from The Milford Theater, two tents were set up with a connecting walkway. The hospitality tent provided space for film festival volunteers to sell merchandise. It also housed a booth for “Holly’s Soup Creations” selling soup and finger foods.

The second tent hosted the Film Salon, coordinated by talent agent, Bill Schill. All the salon events were free and focused on education. New student films, from such schools as Penn State, NYU and Temple University were given exposure. The salon also featured presentationsby industry professionals, such as Jay Ruckel, glove expert for numerous movies, including “Titanic.”

Special attention was given to works with local roots.

“The Brave Little Toaster,” written by a member of Milford Writers Group, provided family entertainment. The Columns Museum hosted a reunion of Milford-area science-fiction writers. Nebula Award Winner, Michael Swanwick moderated the event.

At the Tri-States Drive-in Theater in nearby Matamoras, “The Beast Must Die” showcased the imagination of Milford science-fiction writer, James Blish.

The Black Bear Film Festival had been revitalized by an August 13 fundraising reception at The Muir House. For admission fees starting at $25, attendees were able to meet members of the cast and crew of “Pizza,” the independent film later shot in Milford and Port Jervis, NY. Producer Howard Gertler and writer/director Mark Christopher returned to Milford during the festival to re-shoot some scenes.

The Milford Theater is close to one of the hamlet’s main commercial corridors, Broad Street. The economic benefits of the film festival could be felt two blocks down at the APA Fine Art Gallery.

“The Black Bear Film Festival was great; any event that happens, there’s always extra people,” said Gwen Warnke, founder of the gallery.

By contrast, two businesses located closer to the festival site reported being unaffected by it. At “Impressions Hair Salon” a stylist recalled so few customers on opening night, the employees were able to leave early. The next day balanced it with a greater volume of clients, she said.

“It didn’t affect us at all,” said Andrew Jorgenson of Jorgenson’s Deli.