That Goa���s got a high number of Marathi film fans is a well-known fact, which is why the Goa Marathi Film Festival has been running successfully for the last seven years. This year too, the festival will be held on June 6 and the audiences are already clamouring for passes. What���s odd is that the same Marathi movie buffs show much lesser enthusiasm towards the movies airing in cinemas. Why would a fan watch a Marathi flick at a film fest rather than in a theatre? We find out.���Since we read literature and see nataks in Marathi, we understand the language so there is an audience that watches Marathi serials and films here,��� says Dnyanesh Moghe, filmmaker, and one of the organisers of Goa Marathi Film Festival. Chandrakant Kulkarni , a Marathi filmmaker from Maharashtra, whose film was screened at the Marathi film festival last year in Goa, says, ���It feels great to see that there are audiences for Marathi films in Goa. Basically, I feel the reason they target film festivals is to watch, within the span of a three to four-day festival, a range of good films, besides also meeting their favourite actors. Audience prefer watching everything for free ��� on the television. They also don���t want to spend extra time and money on watching them at theatres.��� Sachin Khedekar, an actor from Maharashtra, echoes Chandrakant ��� ���They save on time, and also don���t need to travel to different theatres. Over here, they get to watch good films in three-four days. They work it out, according to their convenience. I would also say that there is a film festival culture in Goa due to IFFI, therefore, they prefer watching movies at film festivals.���Marathi filmmaker Rajendra Talak, whose film A Rainy Day, will be screened at the festival, says, ���There are three reasons why the Marathi audience may prefer watching movies at film festivals. Marathi films don���t get much publicity here in the state. Secondly, audiences prefer watching four-five films in a shot of `500. They also get to watch good films. Thirdly, there���s the star attraction attached to it. Who would not want to see their favourite star in person?������I believe that the timings of Marathi films running at the theatres here are odd. You will find a show of say, for example, the movie ���Fandry��� at 1.30PM, and ' Yellow ' at somewhere around 3:30, which is not a convenient timing for the audiences. Secondly, there is no promotion of the film, like in Maharashtra,��� says Dnyanesh. Bipin Khedekar, a filmmaker whose film was recently selected for the Maharashtra Short Film competition, says, ���We do have audiences in Goa who prefer watching films in theatres as well. For example, ���Kaksparsha���, a good Marathi film, garnered a big audience and ran for quite a long time. Secondly, there is not much promotion and publicity all depends on word-of-mouth. There are excellent films in Marathi and we need to set up a trend of Marathi films here.��� Marathi film buff Laxmi Mahatme from Goa says, ���I sometimes don���t even know which Marathi movie is being released in theatres. However, I make sure to attend film festivals like the Goa Marathi Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India, where I do not miss out on any Marathi films.���Another reason Laxmi says she prefers watching Marathi films at film festivals over theatres, is that, ���here, you get to watch the selected films, especially art films, which are sent for other film festivals and competitions. At the theatres, you���ll basically find the commercial movies.��� ���Primarily, I believe that audiences get to watch good films at film festivals. These same films sometimes aren���t screened at theatres due to the low budget,��� says Siddesh Naik from Margao, who is also a Marathi film fan.Sources from Osia Multiplex, Margao a theatre-based in South Goa says, ���We hardly get any response for Marathi films as the audience comes to watch Bollywood and Hollywood films. From this year onwards, we have started screening Marathi films. For example, the first film was ���Timespass��� and then, ���A Rainy Day��� received a good response but ���Sangharsh��� didn���t work out well with the audiences.��� Besides blaming the lack of publicity, Rasesh Bondre from Nandi Theatre, says, ���Our audience prefers watching Bollywood and Hollywood films over Marathi, unless it���s a good Marathi film like ���Timepass���, ���Duniyadari��� or ���Fandry���.���