home-grown Steven Spielbergs and Oliver Stones, its manager said this week.

Bermuda International Film Festival general manager Aideen Ratteray Pryse told Hamilton Lions on Wednesday that the event had the potential to be an international showcase for local talent.

She said: "For the local filmmaker who is on the cutting edge of the sociological, cultural and artistic issues in the Bermuda community, the Bermuda International Film Festival has the potential to provide a forum for their work of art.

"I regard it as a personal goal to secure the world premieres of high quality Bermudian feature films and shorts.'' This year's festival featured two "shorts'' by Bermudian directors Will Kempe and Alsions Swan.

Ms Ratteray Pryse said this year's festival concentrated on helping audiences learn about independent film and film festivals.

She added: "Our success can be seen in that over 4,200 tickets were sold, more than 1,500 ballots were cast for the Audience Choice Award, we received 20,000 `hits' on the website between March and May and close to 20 articles were generated by local print media.'' And Ms Ratteray Pryse said: "The aim of this Film Festival was achieved -- we provided a programme which appealed to a broad public audience and created a Festival which succeeded in being an intimate venue for filmmakers to show their creativity and explain their work.'' With planning for the second annual Film Festival already underway, she said the dates of the event will be announced shortly.

But Ms Ratteray Pryse admitted festival organisers had learned lessons from the experience of staging a major festival and that changes were in the wind for the next event.

She said: "Options we are considering for next year include a change to the Festival Pass format. Many people find it difficult to go to the theatre every night for eight nights so we are currently investigating alternatives.

"We will also be seeking to provide more information about the films a little earlier.'' Aideen Ratteray Pryse