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Laurie' s second topic for her Executive Report ,
<br /> The Visitors Bureau sponsors a major festival every year . TerraVita has ceased . Our guest today, Randi Emerman ,
<br /> Founder and Executive Director, Film Fest 919 is proposing that we step in and help with the 919 Film Festival . Laurie
<br /> invited Randi to present to the board because Laurie has some hesitations about it and wanted to give Randi the fairness
<br /> of talking to the board about it . The whole point of tourism marketing is to get the word out early . We are not able to
<br /> do that with Film Fest 919 because the movies that are vetted and showed cannot have publicity until they go through a
<br /> certain process . Randi, Art Chansky, and Phil Ford started this and do a marvelous job . They have met with us and
<br /> showed us the tremendous response in the media globally from 919 Film Festival . As you know, I started in Palm
<br /> Springs, California , Sonny Bono was our mayor, he was insistent on a film festival , and there was a lot of pushback for
<br /> this same reason . You really cannot talk about it until very late which sometimes negates the visitors sell . It ended up
<br /> being one of the biggest film festivals in the Country . I talked to the Executive Director out there recently and he said
<br /> they are booked early for that film festival . It has become a huge event . Laurie turned it over to Randi .
<br /> To answer your question about how film festivals are marketed , now that we have two under our belt, you use past film
<br /> festivals . You market the event, not what is going to be there . A little history on the last two film festivals . We started
<br /> this last year at Silver Spot . I lived in Palm Beach and helped start the Palm Beach International Film Festival and I was
<br /> there for twenty years . The County Commissioners started the Palm Beach Film Festival because they wanted Palm
<br /> Beach to be known for something besides rich , old people . This is going back a while ago when we started it in the
<br /> 1980s . When I came here to build Silver Spot, Chapel Hill was always on our mind to put a film festival here because of
<br /> the University and because you do not have a major film festival in this market . At the time, there were still some tax
<br /> credits, which are back now, for filmmakers to come into the area, and we knew the success of and support that the Full
<br /> Frame Documentary Film Festival, one of the largest documentary film festivals in the world . At the time, we started
<br /> building Silver Spot, so we had a theater now . We are going to bring in the best of the best . Films you are going to see
<br /> go onto the awards cycle . Films like you see at Cannes , Toronto, Venice, and Telluride . HB2 came along so we had to
<br /> backtrack and put it on hold for a while . Then that all changed and we jumped in and did it . In our first year, last year,
<br /> we had 22 films go onto 247 major awards, 7 being Oscars . Those filmmakers were here at our festival . A reason why so
<br /> many people want to start a film festival is that they are great tourism vehicles . I ' ll use Palm Beach as an example
<br /> because I was there for so long, our average hotel room count for the same amount of days would be around 1, 200 -
<br /> 1, 500 people . Palm Beach was not on the same level of films . They were the really independent, higher and medium -
<br /> level . In looking at Telluride Film Festival does something like 60, 000 people . We book our lodging ahead not even
<br /> knowing if we are going to get a ticket to the festival . You go on March 1" at 12 : 01 to buy your pass, which is $ 1, 000,
<br /> the cheapest ticket . That only gives me the right to stand in line for two hours to see if I get in to a movie . That is an
<br /> example of a little town , family-oriented that holds an annual film festival . Last year we had 3 , 000 in attendance . We
<br /> are restricted to Silver Spot and the amount of seats, which is something to look at in the future to deal with . This year
<br /> we had 4, 200 people in attendance . Last year, only rooms I can account for, we used 112 hotel rooms . This year 133 .
<br /> People are eating out while they are here . They are people with money . It is not your down and dirty independent
<br /> filmmakers that are coming . Between last year and this year, we had almost 300, 000, 000 worldwide impressions . We
<br /> brought in 38 journalists from around the world and the country . Not as much interaction with local media . We are
<br /> working on it . This year we were on two t . v . stations . Its hard now with media . It is influencers to get the word out .
<br /> Especially when you are doing it with no budget . We just won four Golden Globes last week and we have eight films
<br /> that are up for 28 Oscars coming up February 9th . Andrew McCarthy who wrote The Two Popes was here and he was
<br /> just nominated for an Oscar. He loved the Sienna ! It is only something that can grow . We have the momentum from
<br /> Hollywood . That is the first and foremost . We can get the product . Now it is getting a way to put it on here . I have
<br /> many friends helping me from outside the area . We need a team . These are people who make good salaries as you go
<br /> forward . I do not really want to use people from outside the area but I need time to grow the infrastructure . We are
<br /> thrilled to be here . The industry is thrilled we are here . The media loves it . I was at the L. A . Film Critics Awards over the
<br /> weekend . Everyone is on to it . It is just getting the area to catch onto it .
<br /> Mayor Pam Hemminger shared her thoughts . " It 's a big deal , a big experience in a small community . Not only the hotel
<br /> rooms but also dining and other retail . People were eating in restaurants at two in the afternoon . They were doing
<br /> things between films . I overheard conversations indicating people came from around the state and that this was a big
<br /> 4 1 P a g e CHOCVB BOD Meeting January 15 2020
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