latest news
Geoffrey Rush Joins Tropfest
The acclaimed actor and newly-crowned Australian of the Year, Geoffrey Rush, will be a key player in 2012’s Tropfest activities.
Naomi Watts To Play Princess Diana
The Aussie actress is set to play the people’s princess in an upcoming film that chronicles the final two years of Diana’s life.
Sullivan Stapleton Signs On To ‘300’ Prequel
The Aussie actor has beat out the competition to land a role in the upcoming blockbuster.
James Cameron Loses Long Time Australian Collaborators
Producer Andrew Wight and cinematographer Mike deGruy lose their lives in a helicopter crash.
search the site
newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter
A Ripper of a Festival
The countdown’s on for the first Australian Film Festival.
Unlike other film festivals, the inaugural Australian Film Festival is hoping to combine screenings, workshops and marquee events to generate a more fun and festive atmosphere.
In discussing the reasons behind this concept, Festival Director Barry Watterson said he wanted to try and reverse the serious attitude Australians seem to have toward film. "Sometimes going to the cinema is an adventure, so we decided to inject a bit of fun into the movie experience. We thought that if we could make going to festival events a more layered, enjoyable happening, then audiences might just take the chance to buy tickets to the films."
Among the activities to be held over the Festival's twelve days which kick off February 24, festival goers will be able to view a series of unreleased features and classics, enjoy outdoor screenings including films by the sea, attend seminars informed by industry insiders and experienced filmmakers, participate in Q & As with Australian filmmakers and wander the city streets for a Food & Film Festival.
Exposing and building an audience for Australian film will still very much be at the heart of the Festival. In selecting the films, Programming Director Peter Castaldi explained, "We wanted to be able to offer audiences something they had probably never heard of, didn't know existed, that were independent productions made outside the normal production model and we were looking for a very broad range of films, stories and styles."
Castaldi said the films selected to screen at the Festival are not characteristically Australian. "There's one in particular called Girl Clock (starring Veronica Neave pictured) which is a rom-com. We don't make rom-coms but it's a very clever, funny little film. Richard Wolstencroft's The Beautiful & Damned is an unashamedly dirty, hard R-rated film and we don't make those either. There are a couple of straight genre films such as Gates of Hell and The Tumbler but we don't make genre films. So apart from the Australian accent, these films are very internationalist."
Included in this mix of films are going to be screenings of classic Australian films. "People think they know films like Mad Max or Bad Boy Bubby, but they haven't been on the big screen for years, and it's a totally different experience, especially with the cast and crew appearing as well. And, of course, nearly every film we screen has a Q & A with the filmmakers, which takes you inside the making of the film," Watterson said.
Alongside the film screenings and other festivities, the Festival will also feature competitions and workshops with the aim of offering practical advice to aspiring screenwriters and filmmakers. "There are many things that go on around the making of a film and the idea is to offer audiences of all ages different entry points to the Festival. As the Festival involves content which is independent, low-budget and digital, we're hoping that the audience who want to be filmmakers will get a little kick of inspiration," Castaldi said.
Tickets for the Australian Film Festival are now on sale. For more information and to check out the full line-up of films screening, head to www.australianfilmfestival.com.au.