Sellout at Jewish film fest

Organizers of this year’s Windsor Jewish Film Festival felt “terrible” that they couldn’t seat everyone for last Wednesday’s 8 pm screening of Sarah’s Key starring Kristin Scott Thomas (left). I showed up a few minutes before the screening and found about 30 people in a line that was going nowhere fast. Turned out the movie was sold out. I hadn’t been too concerned about showing up so close to screen time because the fest’s movies never seemed to sell out though some of the evening ones drew good crowds. In fact, “this was the first time in 10 years that a film sold out,” organizer Stuart Selby said.....Good for them. I hope the festival also continues to draw a more mainstream audience because I think many Windsorites hardly know this event exists. Selby said organizers “all feel terrible” they had to turn people away. Nevertheless, organizers scrambled and got cooperation from Cineplex at Devonshire Mall for a bigger theatre the next night for the festival’s finale, In Darkness. “Though attendance was up, everyone could get a seat,” that last evening, Selby said.....The organizing committee will now deal with “questions we never dealt with before” including possibly having more than one screening for better known film titles. This was the festival’s 10th season and Selby said it was its “best ever.”