Movie buffs
and industry experts came out in droves for this year’s 7
th
Whistler
Film Festival, making the event the biggest yet.
According
to Shauna Hardy Mishaw, co-founder of the festival, overall attendance was up
15 per cent.
Around
7,000 people attended the festival, increasing resort occupancy by four per
cent, compared to last year.
Even the
popular American show Entertainment Tonight came out to the festival and
covered the event.
“This year
really was a water shed year for us,” said Hardy Mishaw.
“Millions
and millions of Americans now know about the Whistler Film Festival and about
Whistler. It is so exciting to have that kind of coverage.”
Entertainment
Tonight
’s coverage
included a 35-second clip on the Jan. 7
th
show with interviews from
celebrities including American actress Leelee Sobieski. This is the first time
a major broadcaster has covered the event.
Media coverage
as a whole was vastly improved this year, with a 27 per cent increase in media
attendance. A total of 25 media outlets came out to the event from Nov. 29 to
Dec. 2., including Entertainment Tonight and The Hollywood Reporter.
According
to Hardy Mishaw, 65 per cent of participants were first time attendees, 33 per
cent were repeat attendees, and 14 per cent had already attended the festival
at least three times before.
The
four-day Whistler Filmmaker Forum, which takes places concurrent to the film
festival, also saw higher numbers this year with 684 industry members
participating, a 16 per cent increase from last year.
Several
industry deals were made during the event as well. The most significant of
these was a multi-million dollar deal signed between Beijing talent agency, PKU
Starlight, and North American producer, Movie Plus, to co-produce a live action
version of the Chinese legend “Mulan”.
The film
will be shot this year in China, and all post-production work will happen in
British Columbia the next year.
Other film
industry deals are pending said Hardy Mishaw.