Film fest brings people from all over the world together to celebrate cinema in the relatively small southern city of Savannah. With such a huge influx of people, businesses get a welcome boost of customers during a time of year when tourism declines.
With the likes of John Krasinski, Emily Blunt and Hugh Jackman among others, this year’s festival will attract a massive amount of fans, critics and reviewers. While they’re sure to spend most of their time at the theater on Broughton Street, they are also sure to do three things: increase traffic, flood the city’s nightlife and bring lots of money.
With eight days and 164 films, SCAD’s film festival is set to welcome more than 55,000 attendees. Make sure you find a place to park and lock it down, because the likelihood of finding a space in town will be miniscule. Local businesses don’t mind though. On Broughton Street especially, there is about to be a massive influx of revenue.
Planet Fun is also excited to serve all the new faces. By their estimates, the festival increases their sales by around ten percent for eight days. They aren’t too keen on their chances of meeting wolverine, though. Sometimes they get film fest celebrities coming in to take a look at the comic books and games, but not the “nerdy” ones.
“The celebrities connected to nerdy franchises tend to stay away from us,” John Croley of Planet Fun said. “Like if Hugh Jackman came in here, he’d get mobbed by fans pretty quickly. Even last year with Patrick Stewart—this place really isn’t safe for mutants.”
Even a few blocks down, businesses are already beginning to get an increase in customers. At the Savannah Bee Company, business has seen a steady increase, though they’re unsure if that is a result of wag-o-ween (where dogs get dressed up in costumes and visit participating stores) or the film festival.
“I’ve definitely seen more people starting to come in already,” said employee of Savannah Bee Company Summer McCatty, “I wasn’t here last year, so I’m not sure. But we’re unique to Savannah, and with all of the people from out-of-town coming, there will definitely be people in here.”
