TRAVERSE CITY -- The people who live in Traverse City can hang onto one thing during the Traverse City Film Festival.
Some of these movies are coming back.
Last year, the film festival, which owns the State Theatre, brought back several movies that were favorites -- and sellouts -- during the 2008 festival. "Captain Abu Raed," "Let The Right One In," "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" and "Encounters at the End of the World" were just some of the flicks that screened at the State during the fall, winter and spring.
There won't be as many returning next year, according to film festival officials. The returning movies don't bring in as many people as other movies, they said, and the only returning movie that drew decent crowds last year was "Kenny," an Australian mockumentary about a porta-potty deliveryman.
So what movies should return this year?
-- Jan Boback, 70, of Traverse City is dying to see "Woodstock." She just wants "to see Jimi Hendrix on stage." She admits there are historical aspects to the film,
"all the things you didn't know before," but, oh, that Hendrix.
-- Terri Wilcox, 52, first in line the day film festival tickets went on sale to the general public, also thinks "Woodstock" should return. "My husband, that's the only one he'd watch," she said, "That's our era." She remembers in 1969 being "intrigued by Woodstock -- and I bought the album as soon as it came out."
-- Kathy Brown, 53, who regularly volunteers at the State Theatre, would love to see "Woodstock" as well as this year's Opening Night movie, "Troubled Water." "My son loves foreign films and his wife won't go see them with him," she said.
-- Karl Hauer, of Traverse City, was hoping to get tickets to the one screening of "The Only Good Indian," this year's Native American Matinee. He particularly wanted to hear the lead actor, Wes Studi, in the post-film question-and-answer session.
"I've seen him in so many things," Hauer said. "The movie interests me, too, the premise, but [Studi] really interests me."
Hauer also hoped to score tickets to "Waterlife," a documentary about the Great Lakes, but thinks that should come back to the State for everyone to see.
-- Eric Daigh, 32, of Traverse City, said it doesn't really matter what they bring back, because he'll see it at the State anyway.
"We're all-access members," he said, "and we see each and every movie."
The membership, which costs $300 for individuals and $500 for a couple, "is really an extravagance for us," he said, precluding buying a Friends of the Film Festival membership -- which is why he was in line on a drizzly Saturday, waiting for movie tickets.
He said "Tell No One," a thriller that screened three times at the 2008 festival, was his favorite movie at the State when it returned post-festival.
"There's very little I haven't enjoyed seeing at the State," Daigh said.
-- Marlas Hanson, of Traverse City, while watching trailers at the film festival box office, said, "I'd watch them all again." She has tickets to 11 movies during this year's festival and may get more, she said. She hadn't considered "Waltz with Bashir" or "the sumo wrestler movie" ("A Matter of Size"), but after seeing the trailers was newly intrigued.
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