Guests enjoyed entertainment by Jazz Explosion at the 2016 Film Festival Gala event at the Veterans Memorial Hall on Friday, Sept. 2. (Courtesy photo)

The 2016 Benicia Film Festival, which took place last weekend, was bigger and better than ever, according to event coordinator Helaine Bowles.
Bowles said the Downtown Benicia Alliance was a great help in funding and marketing this year’s event, raising over $4,000 in sponsorships from First Street merchants.
“We had about 300 people,” she estimated. “Over 100 on Saturday and about 100 at the gala event on Friday night.”
Equipment, décor and furnishings for the gala event were provided by Benicia’s Plan>It Interactive, a party equipment rental business that provides interactive games, items and activities for special events.
The film selections were better than last year as well, Bowles told the Herald Friday.
“Every year, the committee gets better at choosing them. We also had more entries, over 800 in total, and this was the first time we accepted only shorts (films of 20 minutes or less).”
Feedback from patrons has been mostly positive, she added.
Some of the filmmakers were on hand to introduce their films and field questions.
“One came here all the way from Texas, and we had a Benicia High School graduate and his parents, and about 20 (filmmakers’) families from Vallejo.”
The success of the 2016 festival spurred organizers to start early planning for next year.
“We’re meeting next week for 2017,” Bowles said.

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