Vancouver: The fifth annual Moving Pictures festival concluded last month with a 30% improvement in attendance.

The festival – the only one dedicated to taking acclaimed Canadian films to cities that may not normally see them at local theaters – generated a total audience of 9,100 this year.

Between February and May, the Moving Pictures festival hit Prince George, Kelowna, Cranbrook, Whistler, Nelson, Nanaimo, Whitehorse, Edmonton and Brandon.

Festival director Michael Ghent says the most popular titles on the 1998 tour were The Sweet Hereafter, The Hanging Garden, Fire and the b.c.-made Barbecue: A Love Story. At the box office, he adds, many of the festival films outperformed the notable Hollywood films playing the same weekends.

The 1998 lineup comprised 25 features, documentaries and shorts and special guest included Gabrielle Rose (The Sweet Hereafter), Dean English (Kissed), Guy Maddin (Twilight of the Ice Nymphs) and Stephen Hegyes and Mina Shum (Double Happiness) Sponsors include Telefilm Canada, Viacom Canada, British Columbia Film, the B.C. Council of Film Unions, the B.C. Film Commission and others.

Next year, the festival is expected to expand to 15 venues.