Francis Coady set up the festival in 2001
The 12th annual Bondi Short Film Festival has selected 14 of Australia’s most talented up and coming from over 200 submissions for its 2012 shortlist of finalists.
Screening this Saturday at the Bondi Pavilion, the filmmaker-focused festival will be judged by a panel of highly respected members of the Australian film and television industry.
Frances Coady, Sydney entrepreneur and director of entertainment consultancy The Coady Group, was inspired to create the festival after learning that too many young film-makers were unable to submit their films to most Sydney festivals because they had previously been screened at another festival.
This rule significantly limits directors’ ability to showcase their creativity to a wider audience, Coady said.
“Creativity breathes new insights, concepts, and ways of thinking about the world,” he said.
The local community of Bondi is a “hub of creative talent” and Coady adds that the Bondi Short Film Festival offers a strategic avenue for local film-makers to showcase their work to a “highly discerning audience”.
The independent festival screens 100 per cent Australian content and has attracted more than 3000 quality entries over its lifetime. In the past few years Coady has seen a trend towards short film-makers being increasingly liberated to speak their minds and to shake things up a bit.
“Today, short film makers are all about pushing the boundaries, showing off their creative ingenuity and expressing their personal voice,” he said.
But what hasn’t changed for Coady are the ingredients for making a great short film.
“Overall the most important aspect for any artistic endeavour, such as filmmaking, is the meaning behind the creation of the art. If the film lacks meaning, the audience will not engage. If the film-maker can be truthful in the delivery of their meaning then you have a successful film on your hands.”
This year’s entries certainly don’t lack meaning. They range from a film that follows the lives of three extremely vulnerable young men from New Zealand, Australia and Vietnam as they reflect on their desire for acceptance in local gangs to a film about a metaphysics student who believes he can scientifically decipher fate.
The finalists will be judged by respected industry personalities including Noni Hazlehurst, ChristiaanVan Vuuren, Jessica Tovey, Kristy Best, Dr Ruth Harley and Andrew McFarlane to win a prize pool valued at over $10,000. For more information visit www.bondishortfilmfestival.com
What: 12th Annual Bondi Short Film Festival
When: Saturday, November 24, 2012
Where: Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach
Tickets: Moshtix – www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 438 849
Cost: $33 + booking fee
Times:
- Matinee Session: 3:00pm (Main Theatre) Doors open at 2pm
- Evening Session 1: 7:30pm (Main Theatre) Doors open at 6pm
- Evening Session 2: 8:15pm (Seagull Theatre) Doors open at 6pm
