The Rock Bar & Grill was buzzing on Wednesday night with people excited to engage in BIFF trivia. The night promised sixteen questions, a special bonus halftime round, prizes given out throughout the night, and a 50/50 raffle.

“One big happy family here!” said BIFF executive director Greg Gerard, starting off the night by noting the wonderfully enthusiastic crowd. The trivia featured questions about BIFF past and present, in addition to classic movie trivia. The first question of the night? On what day, date, and year did the very first Beloit International Film Festival open? For one point, the answer was Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Some of the trivia-goers had been with BIFF since that very day, for others, this is their first year. Regardless of time spent with the festival, everyone there was eager to talk about their love for BIFF. John Kalkirtz, BIFF board member since 2013, picked out one particular aspect of BIFF: the filmmakers. He spoke of the “multitude of movies from all over the world” and his joy of being able to listen to the filmmakers and ask them questions. Through this communication, one can understand the films through not only your lens, but through the filmmakers. The Beloit International Film Festival tries to get as many filmmakers to the showings as possible, allowing the community to come together in a more impactful way.

BIFF also announced its partnership with Impact Beloit, an initiative to bring together the Beloit community with the college campus. Nico Doret, senior at Beloit College, is taking on the role of student liaison and project manager. Talking about the valuable resources the BIFF can bring, Nico mentioned that was his first day of his brand new Chicago-based job.

All of the fundraising events BIFF does goes right back into the organization. This trivia event was fundraising for a new projector and screen for the Bagels & More theater venue. “You can go down there and see a movie at Bagels and More and say ‘I did that!’” said Greg.

The night came to a close. The winning trivia team, Gen 4, beat out teams like B-Cup and Cheez Whiz. Swag bags, which included vouchers for BIFF showings, were handed out to the top three teams.

BIFF will present the brand-new film program for the year on March 14. Be sure to join us at the Hampton Inn on Cranston Road from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for the release!