The First National Bank Classic Film is the final official event on the ten-day BIFF schedule and thanks to the sponsor, it is offered free. No wonder, it attracts one of the largest crowds of BIFF.

Following on a survey taken in the fall, the film the community would most like to see again on the big screen is the 1973 Oscar winner, The Sting. Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, it is the story of two grifters who team up to pull off the ultimate con. It won eight Academy Awards including Best Actor for Redford.

Set in the 1930s in Chicago, Redford and Newman devise a complicated scheme to rob a local mob boss, and amass a talented group of other con artists who want their share of the action. The stakes are high in this game, and to win, our heroes need all their skills and a fair amount of confidence.

The film also contributed to attracting a new audience for the classic ragtime music of Scott Joplin. His piece, The Entertainer, provided the film’s theme and the base for the Oscar-winning score.

The film will be screened at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 4, at Schubert’s Luxury 10 Cinema at 2799 Cranston Rd., one of BIFF’s eight venues in Beloit. The Schubert management will offer free popcorn and pop.

The film was selected with a survey of First National Bank customers and BIFF attendees. In recent years this closing event of BIFF has drawn overflow crowds, with such films as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Maltese Falcon, and last year’s Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner.

The Beloit International Film Festival, celebrating its 13th season, is sponsored by the Hendricks Group in association with Beloit College and with additional support provided by Visit Beloit. Support for the Festival comes from area businesses and civic organizations, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Individual support for BIFF is provided through membership in the BIFF Founders and the Film Society of Beloit.