Festival Week in Full Swing

St Kilda Film Fest is in full swing and although all the staff are funning flat out, everyone is having a blast. Here's a quick run-down of what's happened and what's happening tonight. Plus a quick preview of Saturday's highlights...

YESTERDAY:
Under the Radar was well attended by filmmakers, alongside their family, friends and the general festival-going public. The winner of the youth program will be announced on Sunday night.
Annecy: 1997 to 2004 drew in animation buffs with its eclectic showcase of shorts.
Session One of the Top 100 gave everyone another sample of what's to come throughout the week.
Pitch Clinic and From Longs to Shorts! filled up Forum Hall with crowds of intrigued film practitioners, keen to soak up every bit of advice from leading Industry figures.

TONIGHT:
Sessions Two and Three of the Top 100 will play at The Astor from 6pm, these programs include:

Opening Night star 'The Globe Collector'
A revealing documentary about the Bali 9 'My Brother Andy'
Another intriguing character-documentary with 'It's Him Terry Lim!' 
The visually stunning 'Ten Quintillion'
Magical animation 'Polo's Robot' 
Tragi-comic meditation on being dumped 'The Human Fog' 

A drama about dealing with tragedy 'Shelling Peas'
The good, bad and ugly of Indians living in Melbourne 'In My Skin'
Everything can change in a 'Millisecond' 
Polly wants to map a lost city in 'The Cartographer' 
Intense study of PTSD 'Toy Soldier' 
Inspiring documentary 'On Her Shoulders' 

Making a Music Video 

Before heading over to SoundKilda, you might want to see how the music videos are made. All the elements of effectively merging imagery and melody are pulled-apart and studied. 

From 6.30 to 8pm at Forum Hall 

SOUNDKILDA 

Music video for 'Against the Grain' 

The much anticipated return of this festival favourite starts at 9pm, at The Astor.  The fabulous clips featured are from renowned artists such as Gotye, Miami Horror, and Kate Miller-Heidke, and directed by acclaimed auteurs including Darcy Prendergast, Natasha Pincus, and Krozm.

$3,500 in prizes is given to the most outstanding clips and an audience choice winner.

Come to soak up the atmosphere and hum along to some great tunes if you've not already bought tickets.

SOME THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
Industry Open Day 
Are you looking to enroll in a film school? 
Are you searching for the perfect equipment for your next shoot? 
Then come to the free 'Industry Open Day' to be held from 12pm to 4pm in The Astor's foyer on Saturday afternoon. With a wide range of aspects of the Industry catered for (post-production, camera equipment, film schools and more), exhibitors will have desks set up with experts and educators there to help with queries and/or inspiration!

Exhibitors include: 
Lemac
Music & Effects
RMIT University
Open Channel 
Australian Directors Guild 
... and many more!

Blaze of Glory 
The unofficial festival party is on this Saturday night at The Astor from 10.30pm.
Hosted by the SKFF staff joker Paul Shea, it'll be a night of drinks and nostalgia, set to the music of Duran Duran and Madonna, among others superstars of 'movie music'.
It's ONLY $5 too, so come along and be merry!

For all festival, program and ticketing information visit stkildafilmfestival.com.au

Tomorrow is LIFT-OFF!!

After months of organisation and hard-work, the SKFF team will kick off the Festival with the help of a huge audience of film practitioners and movie buffs, tomorrow night at the wonderful Palais Theatre. It will surely be a magical evening, so I asked team members what they're most excited about regarding Melbourne's most exciting Tuesday night this year...   

"Anyone who's thinking of going to the iconic Palais tomorrow night, this might be your last ever opportunity to see films there -- because with the quality of the program, we're going to lift the roof off the theatre" - Paul Harris, SKFF Festival Director 

"I can't wait for the filmmakers to finally see their films on the big screen" - Adele Denison, SKFF Festival Producer 

"Very excited! There's a lot going on, but Opening Night will no doubt will be a highlight of the festival" - Angus Macpherson, SKFF Production Manager 

"Excited as I am every year. I love seeing the Palais full and all the anticipation of the week ahead" - Annie Helps, SKFF Marketing

"Super excited! It will be one of the best opening nights yet -- the hype and the buzz this year is great. And we have such a great selection films -- some world premieres too" - Anthoula Ververis, SKFF Ticketing and VIP Manager  

"The mixologist, who'll be making daiquiris and the the signature Renault cocktail. Also keen to see the audience reaction to 'Bonnie Doon'." - Paul Shea, Business Development    

"Looking forward to the audience's response to the taste of the showcase to come" - Jake Brown, SKFF Festival Administrator 

"Seeing everyone dressed up and glamorous" - Sophie Fernandes, SKFF Program Support  

"Having the Palais at near-capacity is always a thrill" - Dean Mandaru, SKFF Business Development 

We look forward to seeing you dressed to the nines -- I've already dusted off my favourite 'dressy' jacket and am considering brushing my hair -- and being swept away by some of Australia's best new short films. I am actually dizzy with excitement! 

Watch this space throughout the week... Will update VERY soon, 

Excitable Intern


"Walk the yellow carpet at the magnificent Palais Theatre as we celebrate the triumphs of our local film industry. Featuring a selection of what's to come for the 2012 St Kilda Film Festival." 
OPENING NIGHT -- 7.30pm Tomorrow (!), May 22nd
  

Exciting Update!

Oh hi, Festival Followers!

We've recently received more great news for a Top 100 short film. 'The Globe Collector' (see below) and Amy Gebhardt's summer-themed 'We Were Here' has been selected to screen at the Sheffield Doc/Fest -- an event which showcases some of the best documentary talent from around the world. They're two of only three Australian documentaries to show, so The Globe Collector's director Summer DeRoche and producer Andrea Distefano are heading over to the UK with the support of Screen Australia, to take advantage of this opportunity. Much like SKFF, the Sheffield Doc/Fest not only screens great films, but has opportunities to partake in workshops/forums and networking events.

Big congratulations to all of them! The trailer for 'We Were Here' is below...

In other news...

We're only ONE WEEK (and a day) from St Kilda Film Festival 2012 and we couldn't be much more excited/anxious. Corman At Ya! is looking in fine B-movie form; our doyennes of ticketing are tapping frantically at their keyboards, arranging seats for the fast-filling sessions of Australia's Top 100 Short Films; ears are being flushed in preparation for SoundKILDA and Blaze of Glory; and this little intern should be writing some more 'Forum Fever' updates...

Adios for now!

Many Apologies,

In Turn
  

The Globe Collector

With one of the most original concepts for a documentary SKFF has ever seen, 'The Globe Collector' is about one man's passion for light globes. Paul Harris got to speak with the director, Melbourne-based Summer DeRoche and her film's producer Andrea Distefano, on his RRR radio program 'Film Buff's Forecast' last Saturday.

    Summer DeRoche, child of influential screenwriter Everett DeRoche (whose credits include Aussie classics 'Razorback' and 'Long Weekend'), grew up on film sets, harbouring ambitions to make films from an early age. She studied for her Bachelor of Film and TV at Swinburne University, where she met Distefano. 'The Globe Collector' is their most successful collaboration to date -- already lining up international premieres. Although the film was originally made for TropFest (2012's 'signature item' was light globe) it has a found a life of its own.
    "I was quite attracted to the imagery of light globe collections," says DeRoche, of her original inspiration. But an image isn't enough to sustain audience interest, there needs to be an engaging subject -- she found that in Andrew Pullen.
    With one of the world's largest light globe collections, Pullen has an all consuming passion for electronics, which fill his relatively secluded life in Tasmania. His solitude might stem from his Asperger's syndrome, but he describes it more as a label than anything else -- "They say it’s a disorder, I don’t like the term of ‘disorder’, it’s just another type of person, another type of personality" -- a sentiment that makes this documentary surprisingly moving.
    Made on a shoestring budget with a five person crew and tight interstate shooting schedule, 'The Globe Collector' has come together in a neat package with an interesting idea and emotional tug -- no wonder, then, that it's playing Opening Night at The Palais Theatre which Paul Harris reminds DeRoche and Disefano is "full of light globes".
    So what's next for the director and producer? Distefano says producing features is what she's "aiming for", she found her time as an assistant on Australian musical 'Bran Nue Dae' inspirational and educational. DeRoche also hopes to jump from directing short films to features. Perhaps they should pop over to the 'From Shorts to Longs' forum (May 23, 8pm -- Forum Hall)...

'The Globe Collector' screens at SKFF: 
Opening Night @ The Palais Theatre, TUES May 22nd -- 7.30pm 
AND
Session Two of Top 100 @ The Astor Theatre, THURS May 24th -- 6pm   

For the film synopsis and trailer visit: http://theglobecollector.com/
For more on the director visit: http://summerderoche.com/

NEWS 08.05.12

As the Festival gets closer, more success stories are flooding in regarding our Top 100 films.  Excitement!

The Palace is Picture Perfect

Another win for Australian-Cypriot co-production of The Palace (the film won several awards at the South Australian Screen Awards), Nick Matthews has been awarded Best Cinematography in the short film category.

A tense and stark film, set during the political and social unrest in 70’s Cyprus, The Palace has been widely acclaimed since its release last year.   

The Palace screens at SKFF in Session 8 of the Top 100 program, Saturday May 26^th 3pm – 4.30pm

VCA Wins Youth Spirit

Victorian College of the Arts graduate Andrew Kavanagh has won the national Spirit of Youth Award thanks to his efforts on two short films, Men of the Earth and At the Formal – the latter of which will be screening at SKFF. Originally from North Carlton, Kavanagh will be travelling to Los Angeles and receive mentorship from Australian-born director Robert Luketic (of Legally Blonde fame) on Hollywood film sets.

At the Formal is a surreal thriller, with a darkly humorous twist, screens at SKFF in Session 13 of the Top 100 program, Sunday May 27^th 2pm – 3.30pm

AFTRS Cannes Do

 Australian Film, Television and Radio School is screening six of the school’s most outstanding short films in the Aus/NZ focused ‘Cinema des Antipodes’ program at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Two of the exhibited, ‘Emily’ and ‘Moth’ films will be in competition in the Top 100.

Emily, a psychological thriller (which was recently nominated for a Student Academy Award) screens at SKFF in Session 7 of the Top 100 program, Saturday May 26^th 1.30pm – 3pm

Moth, a story of escapism, screens at SKFF in Session 15 of the Top 100 program, Sunday May 27^th 6.30pm – 8pm

CONGRATULATIONS to the above films. Talent is emerging from everywhere and we’re thrilled to showcase some of Australia’s best right here, in St Kilda, in 14 days!

Xoxo

(Gossip) Intern