Nonfiction film fest popular in third year

The third annual True/False Film Festival had a record number of movie viewers this year with 10,600 tickets sold.

The number of tickets sold in advance rose from about 100 tickets last year to 450 tickets sold this year, said David Wilson, co-director of the film festival.

“Most of the people on average see two to three movies,” Wilson said. “On the basis of that, you can conclude that about 5,000 people attended this year’s festival.”

He said this number reflects that about 50 to 60 percent more people attended the festival this year than last year. About 6,600 people bought tickets last year, he said.

“It’s exceptional for a documentary film festival only three years old to attract so many people,” said Lorah Steiner, executive director of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

As for possible expansion of True/False in the future, Wilson said he wants the event to remain a “small festival that shows high quality documentaries.” Wilson’s interpretation of a small festival is one that shows between 25 and 40 documentaries.

“We will not change the concept of the festival,” he said.