Film buffs will have an all new festival to get excited about when the inaugural Queensland Film Festival kicks off in July.
Created with the intention of celebrating and showcasing film culture and filmmakers to Brisbane, the event will have a strong focus on variety and excellence in cinema, screening the very best in the world of film from around the globe.
The all new festival is the brain child of film buffs John Edmond and Dr Huw Walmsley-Evans who met during their post graduate film studies at the University Of Queensland. Edmond is responsible for the University Of Queensland's film programme where he is an associate curator and Dr Walmsley-Evans is a film critic, researcher and contributor of online film magazine Screen Machine. Together they have created a festival that aims to fill a void in annual the Brisbane film culture calendar.
'Eight'Included in the very first line-up will be Philippe Garrel's 'Jealousy', Peter Strickland's 'The Duke Of Burgundy', Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson's 'The Forbidden Room', and Brisbane filmmaker Peter Blackburn's debut piece, 'Eight'.
The festival includes guest appearances from well known film critic David Stratton of 'At The Movies' fame and ABC Radio National film critic Jason Di Rosso, both who are excited to be a part of the new event.
'The Forbidden Room'David Stratton has been championing Australia's, and more specifically, Brisbane's film culture for decades and he says that he's more than happy to be supporting the up and coming Queensland Film Festival. "I always looked forward to travelling up for Brisbane International Film Festival. Unbelievably, next year it will be 50 years since the first Brisbane Film Festival, and I'm very pleased to support Queensland Film Festival in reintroducing this kind of film festival for local audiences.”
Jason Di Rosso will be offering a critical view of the first ever Queensland Film Festival, and he says he's glad to do so in another fantastic film festival setting. "I’ve always cherished my experiences at film festivals, and the best ones have been about seeing films in the company of other cinematic travellers that challenge me and expand my thinking.
'Jealousy'"It’s wonderful to see Brisbane getting another film event that’s committed to showing exciting, challenging work.”
Supplementing the film screenings will be open conversation between filmmakers, film critics and the public, offering a truly immersive platform for discussion and critique about films and filmmaking in this era. Dr Huw's emphasises that the Queensland Film Festival is as much about showcasing excellence in films as it is about providing an opportunity to discuss the films.
"The festival will focus on two things: showing outstanding, recent international art cinema; and providing a space to think about and discuss these fascinating, challenging films."
'The Forbidden Room'Playing host to the event will be the New Farm Six Cinemas, a site with notable historical significance in Brisbane's film culture. The venue played host to the very first four Brisbane Film Festivals from 1966 through to 1969. Beginning life as the Merthyr Picture Palace, the cinema changed iterations and owners a number of times over the decades. The historic site was recently extensively renovated and restored before being reopened last year in August by it's current owners.
"Before it was the New Farm Six it was the Village Twin, and before that it was the Astor Theatre,” says venue owner Stephen Sourris. “The Astor Theatre hosted those first Brisbane Film Festivals. There’s been a cinema on this site since the days of silent film, and the festivals in the '60s are an important part of our story," Stephen says.
The Queensland Film Festival takes place at New Farm Six Cinemas, 24-26 July.
