Since the announcement last month that, beginning in 2015, Movies at Midway will no longer host the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, some have speculated that 2014 would be the last year for the film festival.
The board of directors and staff of the Rehoboth Beach Film Society want to assure everyone that such speculation could not be further from the truth.
Planning for the 2015 film festival is already underway and we look forward to continuing this treasured event as long as there is a beach at Rehoboth and independent films to screen.
This year’s festival will involve two locations, four theaters at Movies at Midway and the beautiful and commodious theater at Cape Henlopen High School. The enormous high school theater size will allow more people to see some of the festival’s most popular films while also providing the same number of total seats as in previous years. Identifying options for additional venues for 2015 and beyond is in progress. Determining what changes in structure and duration of the festival may be necessary are issues currently being addressed.
We should all be grateful that the arrangement we’ve had with Movies at Midway over the last 16 years has enabled the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival to grow into a vibrant and important event serving not only our immediate communities, but also attracting visitors from throughout Delaware and over 20 other states. The film festival simply has become too big and too important to be cast aside by the business decisions of our former host. It is valued by the entire community and, with the help and involvement of that community, it will continue to thrive.
Thank you to the many individuals and businesses that have expressed their concerns about the future of the film festival over the past weeks. The Rehoboth Beach Film Society is a strong and financially healthy organization. It sponsors not only the film festival but also a broad scope of programs throughout the year, bringing important independent films and other events to Sussex County. We look forward to working with the leaders of local governments and businesses and, most importantly, our thousands of members and other supporters in taking on this new challenge. We anticipate seeing you at future film festivals for years to come.
Darrel Grinstead
president
Rehoboth Beach Film Society Board of Directors
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