The numbers are in! Milwaukee Film Festival sees growth in 2014 vs. 2013

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The sixth annual Milwaukee Film Festival concluded its 15-day run Thursday night, October 9th with the world premiere of the closing night film, The Surface. The sold-out screening included a Q&A with Hollywood stars and main talent for the film, Sean Astin (The Goonies, Rudy, The Lord of the Rings), and Chris Mulkey (Captain Phillips, First Blood). Also in attendance were director Gil Cates, Jr., producer Jeff Gendleman, and cinematographer Jimmy Sammarco. The Surface opens in select Marcus Theatres in Wisconsin beginning October 24th.

Immediately following the closing night film and final festival screenings, ballots were tallied to determine the winners of the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival Allan H. (Bud) and Suzanne L. Selig Audience Awards. The winners are:

Feature Film
Alive Inside (Director: Michael Rossato-Bennett)

Short Film
The Numberlys (Directors: William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg)

This year’s festival presented 275 films from 63 countries at four venues and on five screens and saw continued growth in overall event attendance–64,187 in 2014, compared to 55,194 in 2013.

Public film screenings included a total of 52,986 attendees, while private weekday education screenings hosted a total of 7,052 students (grades 1 through 12) at the historic Landmark Oriental Theatre. In addition, this year’s festival boasted 72 sold-out screenings (64 in 2013). A record 108 visiting guests participated in more than 431 individual festival events over the course of 15 days.

“The festival is a tremendous community undertaking that would absolutely not be possible without our generous sponsors, passionate community partners, and hundreds of dedicated volunteers and staff who work together tirelessly to create such an incredible 15-day experience,” expressed Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Milwaukee Film. “But, most of all, it’s our enthusiastic audience who attend day after day that make our city’s festival possible.”

Highlights from the festival include: