Sunshine Film Festival organisers Kenan Grebenarevic, left, Bruce White, Steve Pereira, Jamie Whiting. 82805 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By LAURA WAKELY
WHAT does Sunshine have in common with Hollywood, Cannes, Venice and Toronto?
Its own film festival, thanks to a team of people hoping to put Sunshine back on the arts map.
The Sunshine Short Film Festival will screen in September at Village Cinemas and filmmakers of all experiences and ages are being invited to create their own five minute masterpiece.
Organiser Kenan Grebenarevic said the idea began after the screening of last year’s documentary, ‘Sunshine: Junction to the world’, when he realised the potential for a film festival in the suburb.
Sponsored by Brimbank City Council, Victoria University, Village Cinemas and Star News Group, prizes will include a private screening at Village Cinemas Gold Class, cameras and phones, with a total prize pool of $5000.
There’s an open category and a schools category, as well as a category for films created on mobile phones or tablets.
Although entrants don’t have to live in Sunshine, Brimbank, or even the western suburbs, organiser Steve Pereira said films with a mention of a Sunshine location, object or person will get bonus points.
“What better place than Sunshine? Rather than an arthouse cinema where just the arty-farty types come, it’s about our lives. We come here to Muffin Break, to JB-Hi-fi and we can consume art,” he said.
The only restriction on entries is that they run for no longer than five minutes and in some way address the theme of Living in a Land Down Under: Life in a Many Cultured Society.
For beginners there’ll be free workshops with a mobile classroom giving filmmakers a chance to get feedback and tips on their films, while the website for the festival will feature a forum for directors, actors, costume-makers, set designers and cameramen to team up.
“There’s a lot of talent in the western suburbs and we want to bring that out and showcase it,” Kenan said.
“We’re looking for the ultimate filmmaker.”
Entries close 5pm Friday 31 August.
The Sunshine Short Film Festival will screen from 12 to 14 September at Village Cinemas Sunshine.
For more information visit www.sunshinefilmfestival.com.au or email admin@sunshinefilmfestival.com.au
