Whew, I’m finally through reading all the comments and notes provided by the hundreds of people who took our online survey. Thank you everyone! There are some high expectations for little ol’NWFF, which is both flattering and challenging. Not every suggestion is a possibility (sorry guys, don’t think we’ll be opening up an Eastside cinema anytime soon, but maybe with just a few more memberships…) and much of the feedback evoked that “I know! We have been working on fixing that” feeling. But there were many good ideas in there that we plan to implement.
There was also some confusion and surprise amongst the answers, and some things I’d like to explain:
-Someone suggested we get a voice recording of our showtimes. We have one! The number is listed in our printed calendars an online near the ticket info in the “In the Cinemas” section. The NWFF Movie Line is (206) 267-5380.
-Guess what! We have half-priced “Happy Mondays!” This seemed to surprise people. We started it almost a year ago, and list in in our printed calendar and on our website (it was also announced on this here blog). Since this isn’t the kind of thing you send a press release for, we rely on you, kind patrons – as well as the tiny flyer in our front window – to get the word out. Mark your calendars!
-People also didn’t seem to know that you can use the Richmark Printer’s parking lot after 9pm for FREE. That’s why we show so many movies at 9:15 – to help people snag a spot! There’s more info about that on our website (www.nwfilmforum.org/parking) or in this old blog post. Feel free to spread the word – or you might want to keep this little secret to yourself.
-The question about our idea for a membership that allows you to go to an unlimited number of regularly priced screenings at NWFF confused a couple people. Let me explain: the idea is that this membership would be like a Woodland Park Zoo pass, where you pay upfront, but can come as many times – for free – as you’d like after that. We wouldn’t be able to extend this to expensive screenings (like BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! at Cinerama) but most things would be covered. If you’d like to change your reply to whether you’d be interested in this, please feel free to leave a comment on this post.
-To whoever it was that got shut out of the 9pm Christmas Eve screening of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY: man, that STINKS. Lame, lame, lame. I had no idea this happened or I would have apologized sooner.
-Finally, there is some good news coming that I’ll leak a bit early since I think people will be pleased to hear it: we are already in the process of purchasing a new video projector for the large theater (the existing one is actually a great projector, just too dim for that cinema) and it should be installed soon! The funds for this were raised during the “Fund a Dream” section of last year’s gala auction. Also, we are redesigning our website at last! Many of the pieces of news and information that got lost will be much easier to find on the new site. I can’t wait!
Now on to the fun information…
NWFF audiences think that the best places to eat within walking distance of the cinemas are:
-Cafe Presse (17%)
-La Spiga (12.5%)
-Ballet (7%)
-I’ll go ahead and say Crave, too, since most of the write-in options were for them!
By a nose, Marcello Mastroianni has edged out Jean-Paul Belmondo in the pre-duel DUEL OF THE COOL (95 vs. 92 votes!)
Only 5% of respondants agreed that LOVE AND DEATH is Woody Allen’s best film.
The most common “favorite directors” were David Lynch, Orson Welles, and Stanley Kubrick. But there were a lot of varied replies.
Thanks again, everyone! See you in the cinemas.
