Lakedance film festival attracts movies, fans from all over

SANDPOINT - Both in terms of milieu and mindset, Bonner County and Hollywood share little in common, but thanks to a group of hardworking movie lovers, Sandpoint will soon become a mecca for film buffs when the Schweitzer Lakedance Film Festival begins again on Sunday.

Now in its third year, the festival has become a tent-pole event in Sandpoint, drawing tourists and filmmakers from around the world. The festival's brainchild, Trevor Greenfield - a filmmaker in his own right - started the eight-day event with his father after being disappointed with the festivals he visited to show his own movies.

"We wanted to - from scratch - design everything throughout the whole film festival to be different. We wanted to cater to audiences and filmmakers better than other festivals had," Greenfield said.

Running from Sept. 7-14, the festival will feature 55 films from around the world, with 15 homegrown Idahoans showcasing their work. Many of the films will have their world premier at the festival, which Greenfield said adds even more excitement to the events.

Greenfield and his staff pride themselves on selecting quality films, but they also enjoy being able to bring many of the featured filmmakers to Sandpoint to meet audience members. Greenfield estimates nearly 40 percent of the movies shown at the festival will be introduced by the men and women who made them.

Visiting filmmakers not only introduce their work, but they also interact with audience members at numerous festival-sponsored events, like cruises, luncheons and parties.

With each year, the festival has grown in both size and renown, and this year Greenfield hopes to draw as many as 1,000 movie-loving tourists to town.

Those growing numbers also produce a sizable economic spike for the community. Citing a Moviemaker Magazine study, Greenfield said an

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average film festival attendee will spend $150 per day on lodging, food, shopping and non-festival related entertainment.

"Just do the math. If they were only here for one day, they would put $150,000 directly into town because of the film festival. And our goal is to keep them in town for six to eight days," Greenfield said.

Because of the location and size of Sandpoint, Greenfield knows there is a ceiling for the festival's growth, but his goal was never to duplicate the enormity of juggernauts like the Sundance Film Festival.

"We're going to be our own film festival and we're not looking to grow to any standard that someone else has set for us," Greenfield said. "The festival will continue to grow in size but, more importantly, in opportunities for filmmakers and film lovers."

Although he's thrilled with the festival's growth and success, Greenfield refuses to lose sight of the one thing that was the original catalyst for beginning the festival, which is giving people the opportunity to see quality films that would normally slip through the cracks.

"It's amazing when audience members realize for the first time that there's something beyond "Batman" or one of those other big movies - that not every film has to have an explosion to entertain you. That's what makes independent films so great, they explore these stories and great forms of entertainment that are excellent and fun to watch."