by FilmInk Staff
Australian Screen Talent Backs Festival Championing Creative Longevity
“At 76, I’m busier and more creative than at any other time in my life.”
That is the message actor, director, musician and teacher Don Bridges is bringing to his new role as Ambassador for Late Bloomers Fest, a new Australian film festival celebrating filmmakers over 50.
With a career spanning almost six decades across theatre, film, television and radio, and more than 130 screen credits to his name, Bridges embodies the festival’s belief that creativity doesn’t diminish with age, it evolves.
“Creativity doesn’t dry up when we turn 50. In fact, some of the world’s great art was created by people who had been forgotten or turned out to pasture,” says Bridges. “At 76, I’m busier and more creative than at any other time in my life.”
Late Bloomers Fest was founded by filmmaker Clare Pickering in response to a simple question: why do opportunities narrow so dramatically once creatives are no longer considered ‘emerging’, despite the experience, craft and perspective they bring?
“Somewhere along the way, we decided that ‘new’ meant ‘young’,” says Pickering. “But the most interesting stories are often the ones shaped over time. This festival is about putting those voices front and centre.”
“The support we’ve received from respected people across the industry tells us we’re not the only ones who think this conversation is overdue,” she adds.
Joining Bridges in supporting the inaugural festival is a judging panel including award-winning director, actor, producer and writer Scott Major, and actor, director and musician Alan Fletcher, with additional judges to be announced in the coming weeks.
Executive Producer Ali Aitken says the calibre of the judging panel reflects a growing recognition that creative longevity deserves greater visibility.
“The response to the festival has been incredibly encouraging,” says Aitken. “These are people who have spent decades creating, performing, directing and mentoring others. Their support reinforces exactly what the festival stands for, that experience remains one of our industry’s greatest assets.”
Final submissions for Late Bloomers Fest close on 21 November, with the festival screening and red-carpet event taking place in Melbourne on 6 December.
For more information, visit: https://www.latebloomersproductions.com.au/fest
