Brisbane Is About to Get a Brand New Film Festival
It's about time you met the Queensland Film Festival.
When it comes to film festivals in Brisbane, things have been a bit chaotic of late. The Brisbane International Film Festival became the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival in 2014, getting bigger in length but smaller in focus. That change left a gap in terms of the type of recent international movies unlikely to show up in a multiplex or even an arthouse establishment. They're the films festivals were made for, but some of them aren't making it to Brisbane.
Enter the Queensland Film Festival, the event you'll want to keep July 24–26 clear for. This brand new celebration of cinema aims to champion excellence and variety, showcasing the very best in film from around the world. In its first year, the festival will screen a curated program of a dozen features and supporting shorts across three days. It's a modest beginning, but a promising one.
The full lineup won't be revealed until June, however four films have been announced to whet cinephiles' appetites. They include The Duke of Burgundy, the latest erotic effort from Berberian Sound Studio director Peter Strickland, plus the delirious alternative history of early cinema that is Guy Maddin's The Forbidden Room. Jealousy, from French master Philippe Garrel and starring his son Louis Garrel, is also a highlight. Looking closer to home, one-shot wonder Eight marks the claustrophobic debut of Brisbane filmmaker Peter Blackburn.
Fittingly, the new festival will take place at Brisbane's newest movie theatre, New Farm Cinemas. It's a match made not only in heaven but in history. The venue actually played host to the Brisbane Film Festival — the precursor to BIFF — from 1966 to 1969, back when it was called the Astor Theatre.
QFF already gets five stars from David Stratton, who has come on board as the festival's patron. ABC Radio National's Jason Di Rosso has also been named as a guest, with the event set to include panel discussions and in-foyer chats with local and visiting critics, scholars, and filmmakers. Yes, this is a festival that wants to take the love of film beyond the cinema.
The Queensland part of its name gives an indication of co-directors John Edmond and Dr Huw Walmsley-Evans' plans for the future. Touring the program to regional areas is on the horizon for future years, but for now, Brisbane film fans best flock to the festival's first outing to see the kinds of movies they really won't see elsewhere.
The Queensland Film Festival runs from July 24 to 26 at New Farm Cinemas. Check out the festival website for more details.
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