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On Tour
Founder and director of the In The Bin Film Festival, Jed Cahill, gives us the lowdown on the travelling festival, and hitting the road in 2012.
In The Bin is a regional Australian touring short film festival, named by its founder and director Jed Cahill in reference to his hometown Currumbin, Queensland, affectionately known as ‘The Bin.' "It's much better than our neighbouring town Tugun affectionately known as Tuggin," Cahill laughs. The AVID software editing system in which files are saved in "Bins" was also a contributing factor.
For the past ten years, Cahill and his van have been travelling the country and taking its host of exciting short flicks on a national tour each year. "We understand the regional audience," he says. "We do not take them for granted. For us it's all about making short films accessible for everyone regardless of distance or social economics."
Not only does In The Bin offer a huge and unique film program, including ‘Board Shorts' for sports based films and the family film program ‘Cart Orts', but also workshops and education programs helping aspiring filmmakers of all ages experience the excitement of filmmaking, with their efforts screened at their town's festival. "The workshop was a direct result of not having anything like it when I was growing up," Cahill says of the festival's origins. "It gives them a creative outlet, and in this age with all the media online, it gives them a chance to interact."
While most festivals choose to be exclusive in one way or another, In The Bin's program is open to all filmmakers regardless of budget or experience. "I never wanted to make a local showcase festival," Cahill explains. "There are enough of them around. I wanted to show audiences the very best of what's out there. I love the comparison between films that we show that are on budgets of $50 and others that are on $100,000."
Last year saw In The Bin visit 60 locations, but this year the festival has been hit with a funding setback and as a result will be cutting back on the number of places it rolls out. "Unfortunately I have had to charge communities a fair bit to do it," Cahill says. "I have taken on a job teaching at a local university in film and media so I don't need to draw a wage from the festival, which I hadn't anyway for the past two years, funded by an understanding wife! I hope later in the year that we will be able to get support from the state bodies to keep our heads above water."
Cahill remains optimistic about the future of the festival. "I am also turning In The Bin into a not-for-profit organisation, which will open us up for philanthropic funding and greater opportunities for support. And we have some passionate people out there who want to see it keep going, so you never know."
This year Cahill has also handed over his keys and many maps to new ‘In The Binners' Emma and Luke for touring duties. Was that a tough move? "I won't miss the long drives," Cahill admits. But the things he will miss? "The people and their appreciation with what you're doing and the encouragement and support they give you. Also working with the at risk youth who really challenge you the first day, but by the end of the third day they consider you a friend. I have learnt more than I will ever learn by doing this for the past ten years, and it has been hard to let go."
Surely a man who has travelled this great land for a decade must have some stories to tell. "We'll I've bogged my van in croc infested waters, I ran out of petrol on the Nullarbor, and overheated my car in the desert," Cahill laughs. "But my favourite one to tell is being threatened by a hit man. In this town, the computer crashed while this big bikie guy was putting the credits onto his finished film. We had three hours before the screening and I got him to drive me to the festival location with the laptop on my lap trying to recover his film. Meanwhile he was looking over at me telling me to get the bloody film ready or else. I managed to show the film, and after that he became a mate. But his favourite line was ‘Australia's a big place and all you need is a shovel..."
Visit In The Bin's website for more information.
Picture caption: Two participants in In The Bin's travelling workshops.