Buzz Cusack's Charles Theatre is the exhibition anchor of the Maryland Film Festival. With crowds starting to mill in front of it early on Friday, I asked Cusack about the benefits of having the regional film festival linked with the area's leading art house.
Q: How big a plus is it for the Charles to host the festival?
A. It's great! Not necessarily financially -- it makes it harder to book films for a couple of weeks before the festival. Distributors don't want to see their runs interrupted, so we may lose a good film or two. But for public outreach, it's great.
Q: Is the audience the same for the Charles and the film festival?
A: I think the film festival audience is broader. There's an interesting dynamic here that I don't understand. The festival can fill theaters for films that wouldn't pull a crowd for a regular run. And the audiences love them! The hope is some of these audiences start coming to the theater after the festival. It does seem to me that the festival is growing every year.
Q: If the Senator does end up in your care, will it have a role in the festival again?
A: It always used to be a part of the festival, for opening nights or other special events. If everything works out, I expect it will be again.
Sun photo by Amy Davis