LEWISTON — Only hours after the Third Annual Lewiston Auburn Film Festival ended — concluding a program that included more than 70 movies, several sold-out events and an estimated 1,500 attendees — organizers are readying for a fourth one.
Director Joshua Shea has set aside the dates of April 4, 5 and 6 as the 2014 target.
Despite the stress and labor and expense of putting together the event, the payoffs are too great to ignore, said Shea and fellow organizers Molly McGill and Paul Roy.
“There would have to be a crazily compelling argument not to have the festival again,” Shea said.
Several of the filmmakers who attended this year’s festival, which ended Sunday afternoon, already plan to submit works for next year.
At Saturday night’s gala, director Shaun O’Connor, who traveled from Cork, Ireland, with three movies, said he plans to submit a just-completed short for next year
And he’s not alone.
“What an awesome testament to the job we’re doing,” McGill said. “That’s really validating to me as an organizer.”
Then, of course, there’s the finances.
Though a final tally may be days away, Shea said he was fairly confident that the festival covered its costs and will end in the black — though surprise costs popped up during the festival.
“I’m hoping we’ll have a little nest egg to start with next year,” he said.
Though the count is still coming, the overall attendance seems higher than ever.
About 400 people attended Thursday’s free Prose Gallery opening and autograph signing with “Survivorman” Les Stroud. Another 450 were at Friday’s sold-out world premiere of “The Peloton Project.” The sold-out gala drew about 350 people who were joined by another 125 to see Stroud’s concert.
And the films drew about 800 people over two days.
Shea and the others plan to survey ticket buyers in the next day or two, asking them for what they liked and what they didn’t. Similar surveys will hopefully go out to corporate sponsors and filmmakers by the end of the week.
Corporate money is needed to cover production costs. And the movie makers need to be happy to continue to submit their movies and attend.
The festival’s progress is linked to them.
“If 30 filmmakers leave our festival and trash it, we’re in trouble,” Shea said. “Today, we have 30 ambassadors out there telling other filmmakers that this is a cool place to come and visit and submit their films.”
Though exhausted and weary, McGill, Roy and Shea all said they were touched by intimate moments amid all of the festival’s activity.
Shea’s favorite memory was of a little boy who had joined the crowd of Stroud’s autograph seekers.
He left saying, “‘That was the best experience of my life.'”
“That’s really gratifying that we were part of making that experience for that kid,” Shea said, still warmed by that memory and others.
“The best time to ask us if we’re going to have a new festival is the day after, when we’re still feeling awesome,” he said.
dhartill@sunjournal.com
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