The premiere of a film to honor World War II veterans broke the Guinness World Record on Saturday for the largest attendance at a film screening.
The previous world record of 27,022 attendees was set in 2010 in Brazil. According to the producers of the film “Honor Flight,” the premiere of their documentary — highlighting stories from the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight program, which flies World War II veterans to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. — beat the record with a crowd of 28,442.
“[W]e had a Guinness judge at the event who made the official announcement after the film was over,” film director Dan Hayes told The Daily Caller in an email. “She presented us with a certificate certifying that we had broken the previous record set in 2010 [in] Brazil (that record was 27,022). Our official event attendance was 28,442.”
The premiere event was held at the Milwaukee Brewers’ Miller Park.
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“We’ve always had big ambitions for the film, but none of us could fathom the scale and emotion that we experienced at its premiere,” added producer Clay Broga. “Honor Flight has the power to change people’s lives. I know that because I was surrounded by over 28,000 people — old and young, men and women — moved to tears by what they were watching.”
“Our goal now is to create that same transformational experience for as many people as possible,” he concluded in an email to TheDC.
The filmmakers add that they are in negotiations to bring the film to the masses via DVD, Video on Demand and Download to Own. They are also looking at ways to replicate the premiere and perhaps make a run at an Academy Award.