The Black Maria Film Festival returns to Fort Myers this weekend for the seventh consecutive year.
Organizers at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates expect 200 to 300 people to attend the film festival, which is also hosted by Edison State College.
“This is, I think, a very interesting thing that a lot of people don’t know about Thomas Edison is his contribution to the film industry and what he did with that having the first motion picture in 1893, the Black Maria which was the first motion picture studio,” said Winter Estates Chief Curator Allison Giesen.
“So many people think of Edison as many other things, but don’t really I think, understand what his impact had being in the movie industry,” she said.
The festival travels to universities and art centers around the country featuring short independent and experimental films. The Fort Myers stop also includes a viewing of Thomas Edison’s own film, Frankenstein.
“This was actually a film that was done, a silent film, of course, but very very well known for its modern technology of the day,” said Giesen. “So in 1910 when it was released, many of these special effects people had not even really thought about. So, that’s something that definitely will be a surprise for people to see.”
Director of the Film Festival, John Columbus, will travel from New Jersey to take part, as well as Edison State College Humanities Professor Wendy Chase.
Films, a lecture and discussion will occur Nov. 1 outside at the Winter Estates and Nov. 2 at the Richard H. Rush Library at Edison State College. Events for both days of the festival begin at 7 p.m.
