A Showcase of Australia’s Finest
As a lover of Australian films, I cannot recommend highly enough the St Kilda Film Festival. This annual event has become an absolute institution. It pays homage to some of the new and fresh talent in our country, and their brilliant works of cinematography. This festival is solely dedicated to the ongoing growth and nurturing of the often overlooked Australian Film industry.
The Competition
The best thing I personally believe about this festival, as compared to some others, is that each year only the top one hundred Australian films are screened. In years past, they have received more than 700 entries, but by the movies being firstly adjudicated, it means that the competition during the festival is a lot fiercer that other film festivals.
The Venues
The planning and preparation that goes in to this event is just amazing, and the best part is that there are a number of venues in the Melbourne suburb of Melbourne that host the screening of different films. This in turn, gives you the opportunity to select the film you wish to see, and then wander to the venue. The key venues used for the festival are the Palais Theatre, The Astor Theatre, Forum Hall and the St Kilda Town Hall. All of these venues are within a stone’s throw of each other.
The Duration
The festival rolls on for 10 days. During this time you will be absolutely inspired at the quality and creativity of the entrants and their films, and your there for the first preview of the next wave of ground breaking Australian cinematography. Don’t for a second think that you’ll get stuck watching some epic Ben Hur or Quo Vadis length film. The beauty of the festival is that they are all Australian short films.
The Films
You can expect a complete smorgasbord of film genres at the festival. Some of the movies can be light and feel good, other dark and confronting, some will have you rolling on the floor as you see the purest portrayals of Australian humour, as only Australians know how to do, and well, yes, some of the films can be just plain weird, leaving you with that stumped ‘What the’ look on your face.
Opening Night
The opening night is always a cracker at the festival. Kicking off in the absolutely beautiful 2,800 seat Palais Theatre, it is the perfect start to this wonderful event. So be sure you don’t miss the red carpet getting rolled and the doors being flung open to Australia’s best short film festival.
Just a Heads Up
Just so you can’t say you didn’t know, the films screened have not been classified or captioned. So the films displayed especially on opening night are for ages 18 and over. However, the cool thing that the festival does, is they run a ‘captioned screening’ on the last night of the festival, with all of the opening night films so you can assess the suitability for those within your care that are under the age of 18.
SoundKILDA
As part of the festival, SoundKILDA is also held. This focusses on a range of Australian top music collaborations that are submitted, and after judging an annual SoundKILDA winner is selected. There are a number of award categories that are then given out such as the Best Music Video, SoundKILDA Craft Award, Best Music Video Animation, Judges Commendation and the Audience Award.
Palm Springs Showcase
Each year the festival also showcases some of the top films that were screened at the North American Palm Springs International ShortFest. This US showcase screens around 300 short films that are submitted from over 40 countries.
Youth Program
In addition to the Top 100 Australian short films, the festival also runs a youth program which is a brilliant concept. As technology has become so cheap these days, it is not hard for an over creative youngster to get their hands of a digital video camera and start filming. However, the hardest part is for these kids to compete against some of the older and more seasoned filmmaker’s.
Hence, that is why the festival runs the ‘Under the Radar’ competition for these aspiring and often extremely talented youth. Be sure to give this section a good look when you go.
Special Events
There are also a range of special events that are held at every festival. In 2014 there were a number of special events which include Zombiethon which was a huge dress up party for those so inclined to be a corpse for a night, Back to the Sixties which documented pop music in Australia in the 1960’s, and Ernest Singer Presents, which was a public screening of Vietnamese immigrant Ernest Singer’s home movie collection which perfectly summarises his arrival and life here in Australia with his family.
Filmmaker Development
The other attribute that I really like about the St Kilda Film Festival, is this section of it. This is more the business side of the festival, which provides knowledge and information from some of the industry greats. With a bit of everything from legal considerations to sound editing, pre and post production, directing, casting and seeking finance, it is an absolute must attend for anyone trying to make their way into the film industry.
Getting There
For those of you from interstate wanting to attend the festival, you can find out all of your flight options by visiting our cheap flights to Melbourne section.
Where to Stay
Melbourne has a huge choice when it comes to accommodation, to pretty much suit any budget. You can get all the latest deals by visiting our accommodation in Melbourne section.
Activities in Melbourne
If you’re also looking for some other things to do while you’re in Melbourne for the festival, be sure to visit our activities and adventures in Melbourne section to get some great ideas of what’s on offer in the beautiful Melbourne.
More Information
If you’d like more information why don’t you head on over to the St Kilda Film Festival website.
I hope you enjoy the festival!