JBFC to Host 24-Hour Movie Marathon

Beginning at 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, the will be doing something it has never done before...24 straight hours of movies.

"We wanted to do a big all-day-long event for the 10th anniversary," explained Senior Programmer Christopher Funderburg. "The actual date that we opened was June 21."

There will be between two and three theaters showing different films through 11 p.m. on Sunday night—the lineup includes foreign films, screwball comedies and six previews of brand new films.

"This is all movies that have never shown at the Jacob Burns Fim Center before," revealed Funderburg, who said he thinks one of the previews "will be the best movie of 2011."

While ticket holders ($40 members; $60 nonmembers) are free to come and go as they please during the 24-hour period, there is a spectacular incentive for those who stay in the building the entire time.

"The grand prize is a free year of movies at JBFC," said Funderburg. "Anybody who comes for all 24 hours and luxuriates what we're doing...I want them here all the time."

And while Funderburg said the JBFC team expected people to come and go to eat, sleep and explore what the Pleasantville downtown has to offer, many enthusiasts have already planned to stay the whole time.

"We didn't intend it to be an endurance test," he said. "It's a party in our mind."

Though some have blasted the theater for choosing not reveal the lineup in advance ("We got an email this morning that said this is a really dumb idea"), Funderburg justified the decision.

"The idea for us is that the surprise is part of the excitement," he explained, adding he hopes moviegoers will pleasantly surprise themselves by enjoying films they might not have sought out on their own.

And on Wednesday, the theater sent out a sheet of clues (see attached PDF) for some of the films, which also shows what time they will be playing.

"We've had someone figure out nine [of 27] clues," said Funderburg. "The idea again wasn't that you can get this and then you can find the list—it sort of gives people a flavor of it."

And the JBFC team has arranged to have different genres of films playing simultaneously to attract every audience.

"If you don't like one thing, there's a good chance you'll like the others," Funderburg said. "If you don't like this lineup, you just don't like movies. You have to actively hate movies not to enjoy this."

While the theater is supplying coffee to keep those who are resisting sleep for the day, Funderburg said there won't be any downtime between movies. The 10 minute slots between the films themselves are packed with "interesting old trailers, music videos, short films," etc.

There will be plenty of special guests making appearances, too. Pleasantville resident and New York Times film critic Janet Maslin, as well as Silence of the Lamb Director Jonathan Demme, among others, have chosen films for the event and will be introducing them to audiences.

"No matter how you approach it, you will have a good time," Funderburg said. "Come and go as you please or stay the whole time. There's no right way to do it."