Australian Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Australian Film Festival is an annual film festival
held in the Australia
n city of Sydney. The festival showcases the films of Australian talent working in a variety of mediums, including; feature films, short films, television
and online web content
. In addition to showcasing Australian film, the festival promotes the growth and recognition of Australian cinema through industry led workshops and discussion forums. It is well known for hosting the Australian Film Walk of Fame
, which has honoured recipients such as Claudia Karvan
, Jack Thompson
, Gary Sweet
, Roy Billing
, Steve Bisley
and Michael Caton
.
,the festival's opening night reunited the original cast and crew of Mad Max
for a screening of the Australian cult film
, followed be a Q&A with actors including Steve Bisley
and Hugh Keays-Byrne
. The festival ran for 11 days, and screened 21 feature films, short films and documentaries, including; Happy Feet
, The Dinner Party
and Bad Boy Bubby
.
The inaugural Australian Film Festival concluded on March 7 with the Australian Short Film Competition, coinciding with The Spot Food and Film Festival at Randwick.
, alongside a showcase of Sydney premieres that included The Reef
, Griff the Invisible
and A Heartbeat Away. Included in the Australian Film Festival Program was a free session of Finding Nemo
, which screened outdoors at Clovelly
Beach Cinema By the Sea.
Following on from the retrospective session of Mad Max in 2010, Popcorn Taxi returned again with a screening of The Sum of Us
. Lead actor Jack Thompson
was in attendance for the film and the Q&A session which followed.
The second AFF closed on March 12 with The Spot Food and Film Festival and the Australian Short Film Competition, which was judged by Australian filmmakers and actors, including David Field
.
.
In 2010, My Uncle Bluey won the Australian Short Film Competition. In 2011, the competition was won by Ariel Klieman's film Deeper Than Yesterday.
, Roy Billing
and Charles Tingwell
.
On March 7, 2010, with the support of Randwick City Council and the Ritz Cinema, the Australian Film Festival inducted Steve Bisley
and Claudia Karvan
to the Australian Film Walk of Fame.
In 2011, Gary Sweet
and Jack Thompson
were both initiated to the Australian Film Walk of Fame on March 13, the closing night of the second Australian Film Festival.
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
held in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n city of Sydney. The festival showcases the films of Australian talent working in a variety of mediums, including; feature films, short films, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and online web content
Web content
Web content is the textual, visual or aural content that is encountered as part of the user experience on websites. It may include, among other things: text, images, sounds, videos and animations....
. In addition to showcasing Australian film, the festival promotes the growth and recognition of Australian cinema through industry led workshops and discussion forums. It is well known for hosting the Australian Film Walk of Fame
Australian Film Walk of Fame
The Australian Film Walk of Fame is a section of plaques on the footpath outside the Randwick Ritz Cinema in the Australian city of Sydney. Formed in 2008 at the Randwick Ritz Cinema, the initiative was established to honour Australian actors and actresses for their contributions to Australian cinema...
, which has honoured recipients such as Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan is an Australian actress popular for her roles in the television series The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way. She is also a producer and writer on Love My Way. She currently stars in the drama series Spirited...
, Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson may refer to:*Jack Thompson , American boxer*Jack Thompson , Australian film and television star*Jack Thompson , disbarred Florida attorney...
, Gary Sweet
Gary Sweet
Gary Sweet is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in Alexandra's Project , Police Rescue, Cody, Big Sky, The Battlers, Bodyline and Stingers....
, Roy Billing
Roy Billing
Roy Billing is a New Zealand television actor, now based in Sydney, Australia.-Career:Billing has starred in many television shows and had main roles on Bad Cop, Bad Cop, Dossa and Joe and Hell Has Harbour Views...
, Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
and Michael Caton
Michael Caton
Michael Caton is an Australian television, film and stage actor, and television host, best known for playing Uncle Harry in the Australian television series, The Sullivans, playing Darryl Kerrigan from 1997's low budget hit film The Castle and playing in the popular Packed to the Rafters. He is...
.
History
Established by current festival director Barry Watterson, The Australian Film Festival evolved from the 2009 Australian Film Week, a week long showcase of classic Australian films held at the Randwick Ritz cinema during Sydney's Coogee Arts Fest. The expansion saw the festival become Australia's most comprehensive presentation of Australian film, with founding director Barry Watterson citing the purpose of the festival being "The long term development of Australian film content in a rapidly changing environment and the building of audiences for Australian film."2010: February 24th-March 7th
The Australian Film Festival premiered on February 24, 2010 at Randwick Ritz cinema. In collaboration with Popcorn TaxiPopcorn Taxi
Popcorn Taxi is an Australian independent non-competitive film festival that presents regular screening of local and international film and television works. The unique nature of each screening is that the events provide patrons with the opportunity to discuss the film with the filmmaker...
,the festival's opening night reunited the original cast and crew of Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
for a screening of the Australian cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
, followed be a Q&A with actors including Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
and Hugh Keays-Byrne
Hugh Keays-Byrne
Hugh Keays-Byrne is an English character actor who moved to Australia in 1973. He is well-known in Australia as a television and film actor...
. The festival ran for 11 days, and screened 21 feature films, short films and documentaries, including; Happy Feet
Happy Feet
Happy Feet is a 2006 American-Australian computer-animated family film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller. It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released...
, The Dinner Party
The Dinner Party
The Dinner Party is an installation artwork by feminist artist Judy Chicago depicting place settings for 39 mythical and historical famous women. It was produced from 1974 to 1979 as a collaboration and was first exhibited in 1979. Subsequently, despite art world resistance, it toured to 16 venues...
and Bad Boy Bubby
Bad Boy Bubby
Bad Boy Bubby is an Australian black comedy/drama film written and directed by Rolf de Heer. It stars Nicholas Hope and Carmel Johnson. It was released in 1993....
.
The inaugural Australian Film Festival concluded on March 7 with the Australian Short Film Competition, coinciding with The Spot Food and Film Festival at Randwick.
2011: March 2nd-March 12th
In its second year, the Australian Film Festival opened on March 2 with Australian production The Wedding PartyThe Wedding Party
"The Wedding Party" is the third episode of the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.-Synopsis:Basil is disgusted when two young lovers, Alan and Jean, begin 'hanky-pankying' under his very nose while checking in. He becomes convinced that they and two other guests are engaged in group sexual misbehaviour,...
, alongside a showcase of Sydney premieres that included The Reef
The Reef
The Reef may refer to* The Reef , a 1912 novel by Edith Wharton** The Reef , a film adaptation of the novel* The Reef , an Australian film* The Great Barrier Reef, the planet's largest coral reef...
, Griff the Invisible
Griff the Invisible
Griff the Invisible is an Australian romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Leon Ford.The story is about Griff a socially awkward office worker who spends his days being bullied by his workmates. At night he is Griff the Invisible, a superhero who roams the streets of his local...
and A Heartbeat Away. Included in the Australian Film Festival Program was a free session of Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
, which screened outdoors at Clovelly
Clovelly
Clovelly is a village in the Torridge district of Devon, England. It is a major tourist attraction, famous for its history and beauty, its extremely steep car-free cobbled main street, donkeys, and its location looking out over the Bristol Channel. Thick woods shelter it and render the climate so...
Beach Cinema By the Sea.
Following on from the retrospective session of Mad Max in 2010, Popcorn Taxi returned again with a screening of The Sum of Us
The Sum of Us
The Sum of Us is a play by David Stevens.The plot revolves around the comfortable relationship between widower Harry and his gay son Jeff and their individual searches for the right mate. Harry unconditionally loves his Rugby-playing son, and even takes an active part in Jeff's search for Mr. Right...
. Lead actor Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson may refer to:*Jack Thompson , American boxer*Jack Thompson , Australian film and television star*Jack Thompson , disbarred Florida attorney...
was in attendance for the film and the Q&A session which followed.
The second AFF closed on March 12 with The Spot Food and Film Festival and the Australian Short Film Competition, which was judged by Australian filmmakers and actors, including David Field
David Field
David Dudley Field II was an American lawyer and law reformer who made major contributions to the development of American civil procedure...
.
Australian Short Film Competition
The Australian Short Film Competition is traditionally held on the last day of the AFF, and is one of the Festival's competitive elements. In 2011, notable short films screened during the competition included The Telegram Man and the 2011 Academy Award Winning Best Animated Short, The Lost ThingThe Lost Thing
-Plot:Set in the near future, in dystopian Melbourne, Australia, The Lost Thing is a story about a boy who enjoys collecting bottle tops for his bottle top collection. One day, while collecting bottle caps near a beach, he discovers a strange creature, that seems to be a combination of an...
.
In 2010, My Uncle Bluey won the Australian Short Film Competition. In 2011, the competition was won by Ariel Klieman's film Deeper Than Yesterday.
FutureFilm Screenplay Competition
The Future Film Scriptwriting Competition, in association with Networking Action For Filmmakers And Actors, provides writers with the opportunity to have their short scripts acted on stage through a moved reading. In 2011, judges included Liz Doran and Ross Grayson Bell. The winner of the competition is awarded a $1000 cash prize.Workshops
The Australian Film Festival presents multiple workshops, seminars and scriptwriting competitions throughout their season, encouraging the growth and discussion of Australian cinema. Past workshops have included discussions with filmmakers, practical filmmaking courses and scriptwriting tutorials. In 2011, filmmakers such as Louise Alston, Gale Edwards and Andrew Traucki all led one of the AFF's workshops.The Australian Film Walk of Fame
The Australian Film Walk of Fame began in 2008 at the Randwick Ritz as an initiative to honor Australian film celebrities. Recipients inducted to the Walk of Frame prior to the inception of the Australian Film Festival have included Michael CatonMichael Caton
Michael Caton is an Australian television, film and stage actor, and television host, best known for playing Uncle Harry in the Australian television series, The Sullivans, playing Darryl Kerrigan from 1997's low budget hit film The Castle and playing in the popular Packed to the Rafters. He is...
, Roy Billing
Roy Billing
Roy Billing is a New Zealand television actor, now based in Sydney, Australia.-Career:Billing has starred in many television shows and had main roles on Bad Cop, Bad Cop, Dossa and Joe and Hell Has Harbour Views...
and Charles Tingwell
Charles Tingwell
In 1941, aged 18, he volunteered for war service overseas with the Royal Australian Air Force. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, personnel from Commonwealth air forces were part of a joint training and assignment system. Consequently, Tingwell trained as a pilot in Canada during 1942...
.
On March 7, 2010, with the support of Randwick City Council and the Ritz Cinema, the Australian Film Festival inducted Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley
Steve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
and Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan is an Australian actress popular for her roles in the television series The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way. She is also a producer and writer on Love My Way. She currently stars in the drama series Spirited...
to the Australian Film Walk of Fame.
In 2011, Gary Sweet
Gary Sweet
Gary Sweet is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in Alexandra's Project , Police Rescue, Cody, Big Sky, The Battlers, Bodyline and Stingers....
and Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson may refer to:*Jack Thompson , American boxer*Jack Thompson , Australian film and television star*Jack Thompson , disbarred Florida attorney...
were both initiated to the Australian Film Walk of Fame on March 13, the closing night of the second Australian Film Festival.
External links
- Australian Film Festival Official Website http://www.australianfilmfestival.com.au/