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Traverse City giddy over Film Festival

Tiberius Images was responsible for the final day of events during the Traverse City Film Festival. During the day events with Hollywood insiders and hopefuls took place throughout the downtown Traverse City area. Movies ranging from Helen Hunt's "A Good Woman" to the world premiere of Bill Murray in "Broken Flowers" were shown on the final day of the film festival.

The Traverse City Film Festival brought 50,000 admissions to the downtown Traverse City area over a 5 day period. The festival's free daily panel discussions with directors, writers and Hollywood insiders were packed, and more than 6,000 turned out for the festival's free outdoor cinema along Grand Traverse Bay, where "Casablanca" and "Jaws" were shown. With 50,000 overall admissions, turnout for the festival was triple what organizers hoped for. Downtown businesses reported record sales for the week.

The Traverse City Film Festival aims to bring "just great films" to the region. It was organized in about nine weeks by a core committee of about 20 local film lovers and a growing army of volunteers that soon numbered about 500 people.

Volunteers worked nonstop for four weeks to revive the State Theatre, which had been largely shuttered since the mid-1990s, and local businesses donated everything from carpeting and paint to pizza and tile to help restore the venue. Opening night at the State featured a lighted marquee, a packed house and the pre-teen dancers who'd starred in the acclaimed documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom."

- Russell Climie