It’s the biggest pre-sale for Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) tickets.
Pre-sale tickets for the popular festival are selling quick, with some films having to move to large venues to accommodate movie lovers.
Vincent Georgie, Executive Director of WIFF, says it’s a very exciting problem to have and shows how much the festival continues to grow each year.
Georgie says the proof is in the numbers, stating that ticket sales for the opening night film for this year’s WIFF are up 509 per cent compared to the same pre-sale time last year.
He says the demand is very high for the opening film, Paper Tiger; the closing film, The Debut; and the premiere of As Far Back As I Can Remember - The Story of Goodfellas, which acclaimed actor Lorraine Bracco is set to attend.
Georgie says they’ve never had to move films to larger venues in previous years.
“Notably on the local front, Jakob Skrzypa’s film ‘The Historical History of Canada’, that had to move theatres already due to selling out. We’ve seen a lot of activity also around ‘I Play Rocky’, that one’s been very, very big. And also the Terry Fox film ‘Run Terry Run’. So all in all these films have really been moving during a very busy pre-sale.”
He says it’s very exciting to see.
“Very, very clear that some of these films were really overperforming. It’s very exciting, and we’re seeing it across the board. We go and announce something, and check ticket sales, and the pre-sales are selling. The festival is still three weeks away, but clearly the movement we’re seeing already is that quite a few of these films will be sold out by the time the festival starts.”
He says the demand comes as the festival grows in popularity each year.
“Clearly people are buying a lot of tickets and want to see stuff, and also we’re taking a look at the data and there’s a lot of tourists, and a lot of postal codes that are not local and they’re from across Ontario, across Canada. And also just having some really appealing films this year that are really hitting the market with stuff people want to see.”
Georgie says his message to the community is to purchase tickets as soon as possible to ensure your spot.
The 11-day event runs from Thursday, October 29, until Sunday, November 8, and features 232 films from 55 countries.