I am not going to see a single film at the Film Festival. I’m not much of a movie-goer at the best of times, and the idea of having to decide where I’m going to be weeks in advance in order to avoid having to sit with my knees around my ears in the back row somewhere just doesn’t appeal to me at all. But I know that there are people amongst us who love the festival. One Wellingtonista has taken two weeks off work to attend as many films as possible. Another’s going to see The Room in Christchurch and Wellington. You crazy kids and your hula hoops and your moving pictures! 

But apparently not all is running smoothly. We got a copy of an angry letter an acquaintance is sending to the festival, and I thought I’d post it here to see if any of y’all are having similar experiences.

To whom it may concern,

I write to you in response to the chaos I witnessed this afternoon whilst lining up to buy a ticket for a popular film at the Embassy theatre. I know it was silly of me to expect to get a ticket on a busy Saturday half an hour before the film starts, but some people choose to make these choices. What shocked me was the level of competence involved at the box office. The whole thing seems very inefficient. I have an idea that you may find useful or not. Why not have three separate lines leading to the three separate consoles using dividers? I used to work at the Embassy and I know they have these dividers in the basement. If the lines are organized you can then make things a lot smoother during peak times. Make one line for advance bookings, one line for ticket collection from pre-orders, and one line for the immediate screening. You can even go a step further by using a sign stating the title of the film about to screen and whether or not it is sold out

On another note the system used for ticketing is extremely slow, frustrating and forces myself to ask the question; why do I even bother? Are the staff or volunteers even trained beforehand? These are a few things I hope you consider, after all I am just a paying customer and I do not believe that I am talking just for myself.

Oh, and on a related note, can all of you film festival goers just stick to your films and stop crowding into SMK and making it have insane wait times? Don’t come between me and my fish tacos. You won’t like me if I can’t get pie to put in my piehole. Just a friendly warning…