The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc., presents the 2009 ESCAPISM FILM FESTIVAL featuring twelve classic fantasy and comedy films, including the last remaining 35mm print of 1978's Battlestar Galactica. All films were programmed with the family in mind and are rated either G or PG.   The three-day festival takes place Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18, 2009, at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, located at 309 W. Morgan Street in Downtown Durham. The 10-pass goes on sale at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 26 and single tickets go on sale at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 26. Festival 10-Passes are $60, $55 for Star Members in advance and $65 during the festival. The 10-pass is a package of ten tickets good for any film, in any combination during the festival.  Individual tickets are $8, $6 for Star Members and $6 for children twelve and under. The 10-Pass and individual tickets will be available at the theatre box office or online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Call 919-560-3030 to purchase tickets. Box office hours are weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time. 
 
Created in 2003, The Escapism Film Festival began with a collection of action-adventure, science fiction, fantasy, animation, comedy, and cutting-edge thrillers equally intermingled with anniversary screenings and eclectic filmmaker retrospectives.Over the years, it has evolved into a festival whereaudiences have shown the strongest support for screenings of classic films shown in their original 35mm format on the big screen. This year's festival will present twelve classic films, hand-selected by the Carolina Theatre staff that will allow filmgoers to rediscover some of their favorite childhood movie moments.  Senior Director Jim Carl said, "Some movies are too big---and too good---to be seen on TV, it's that simple.  They must be seen on 35mm in a theatre in order to recapture the magical feelings associated with them.  Why?  Because only in theatres can you feel the grandeur that made you believe a man could fly in Superman-The Movie.  Only on a 35-foot wide screen can you see how "widescreen" was coined more than 50 years ago for films like It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. These films are spectacles and, no matter how great your home TV system may be, a spectacle is defined by spaces that can breathe like grand movie palaces such as the 1000-seat Fletcher Hall Auditorium."

"In conjunction with Universal Pictures," Carl continued, "we're proud to present the last surviving 35mm print of 1978's Battlestar Galactica and 1980's Flash Gordon.  Once these prints are gone, they'll never be remastered by studios again.  Every year, more and more 35mm prints are lost, and it's likely that, in a few years, Flash Gordon, The Black Hole, Battlestar Galactica, and The Last Unicorn will join that list." Other films screening at the festival include: Back To The Future, Dr. Strangelove Or: How I learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, Escape to Witch Mountain, The Goonies, Planet of the Apes, Walt Disney's Return to Oz and Superman-The Movie.
 
Escapism 10-Passes are $60, $55 for Star Members in advance and $65 during the festival. The 10-pass is a package of ten tickets good for any film, in any combination during the festival.  Individual tickets are $8, $6 for Star Members and $6 for children twelve and under. The 10-Pass and individual tickets will be available at the theatre box office or online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Call 919-560-3030 to purchase tickets. Box office hours are weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and one hour prior to show time.  The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is a private 501(c) (3) non-profit organization.