Bicycles, Boats, John Waters & Film as Art Boost Surviving Provincetown Fest

“Peter and Vandy” director Jay DiPietro, fest artistic director Connie White and Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper at last night’s Provincetown fest party. Photo by Brian Brooks/indieWIRE

“The last couple of years have been a struggle,” executive director Hanna admitted, explaining that she had to cut the PIFF budget by one-third this year. Paid staffers had to take a pay cut and a large local venue was dropped. But chatting with her earlier this week, it’s clear that there was never any real chance that the fest might end after last year’s 10th anniversary.

”[The festival] was happening no matter what,” Hanna told indieWIRE emphatically when asked whether there was ever a thought that the event would end after last year. The ambitious ‘08 fest was such a hit, welcoming guests such as Quentin Tarantino, Gael Garcia Bernal, Jane Lynch, and Gregg Araki, among others, that organizers were committed to survival despite the hurdles.

Like the others who come together to stage this annual small town event, she was determined to keep it going. Now a year-round resident of Provincetown, Hanna started coming here when she was just ten years old, re-discovering it after college. She looks at her role here as that of an art curator.

“Film is an art,” Hanna emphasized, “It’s great to be able to bring art here.” With backing from the local tourism board and key sponsor HBO, she has been able to keep the event alive here serving Cape Cod, tourists who travel in and folks from Boston (a 90 minute ferry ride away).

“Dare” writer and co-producer David Brind (left) with film co-star Ashley Springer in Provincetown. Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE

The Provincetown fest is a beloved event in this casual Massachusetts town. Attending for the second year in a row, I’m struck by how very intimate it is. The theaters are small (and some rather makeshift), this year none can hold more than about 120 people. There is only one party a night and everyone goes, filmmakers, guests and locals alike - a plus for any fest. The event draws a mix of industry and aficonados. Christine Vachon is here again with her family, Marcus Hu and Jon Gerrans are in town to receive their tribute, IFCs Ryan Werner and distribution consultant Steven Raphael are among the other industry types. Dozens of filmmakers made the trip. And, the programming at PIFF is eclectic and solid, basically a mix of festival favorites and summer specialty titles. There is a distinct skew towards queer programming, given Provincetown’s status as a gay and lesbian mecca. Organizers talk about their programming—like their location on the tip of Cape Cod—being “on the edge.”

“My vision of this festival is that I want it to be a place where everyone feels comfortable,” Gabby Hanna offered. She and her colleagues, including artistic director Connie White, director of programming Andrew Peterson, and senior programmer Lisa Viola, among others, work hard for that goal. “I hear that we give a lot away.” Hanna admitted. The fest flew in some 50 filmmakers and guests, she said, and badge screeners are hospitably lax, letting in friends of guests when they can. “It helps Provincetown, it helps businesses, they’ll come back,” she added.

Now, to chart a course for the future of her festival, Hanna is hoping that folks will give back.

“I need an angel,” she admitted the other day during our conversation. Gaby Hanna is directing a capital campaign to buy the local Whaler’s Wharf Theater, a 70 seat venue that she feels will be ideal for offering first run indie and specialty films year round, as well as mini-festivals and other local events. She sees the move as crucial to the future of the Provincetown fest and if she can raise $500,000 she can own the theater within a year.

“Being a five-day festival, it’s very hard to raise money,” she noted, feeling like the move to a year-round organization is the key. She proclaimed, “It will help us survive.”