CIFF director Marcie Goodman made the announcement at CIFF’s closing night festivities Sunday. The dates for the 2017 Festival (the 41st!) will be March 29 – April 9.
“We’re thrilled that Bedrock is welcoming the film festival back in 2017,” Goodman said.
Thrilled, and probably relieved too. When the Avenue sale was first reported, Goodman said she wouldn’t be announcing next year’s dates without a commitment from Bedrock. The fest might have been able to cobble together a diverse and no-doubt robust assortment of community venues, but losing Tower City would have been a major blow to attendance. Housing a film fest under one roof, in a premiere movie theater location, is unique among North American film fests. Dan Gilbert clearly saw the value.
And with good reason: The Film Fest continues to grow. Once again, CIFF broke its own attendance record. With 102,255 fans in 2016, CIFF outpaced last year’s attendance total of 100,204.
This article appears in Apr 6-12, 2016.
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