Bondi’s short film feast is back

BY PAM WALKER
Flickerfest will celebrate its 18th anniversary, showcasing its Academy® Award accredited short films for 10 days on Bondi Beach before heading off on a nationwide tour.

The international short film festival this year boasts three competitive programs – international, Australian and documentary ‘ and the Australian shorts competition has increased with an extra programme added.

Celebrity shorts will showcase celebrities flexing their creativity and taking risks from behind the camera or on screen, and Love bites will examine love and the idiosyncracies of relationships in a saucy line up of sexy shorts with an international twist.

Flickerfest, whose patrons include Baz Luhrmann, Gillian Armstrong, Claudia Karvan, Deborra-lee Furness, Hugh Jackman and John Palermo from Australian production company Seed, received a record 1350 entries this year.

‘The growth and success of Flickerfest is testimony to Australian audiences warmly embracing the short film form for the culturally relevant and insightful stories that it contains,’ said festival director Bronwyn Kidd.

‘The festival continues to attract the latest in cutting-edge and award-winning shorts from the world’s most exciting new filmmakers.’

Among the films screening at Flickerfest is Bondi Junction filmmaker Kristina Ceyton’s The Ground Beneath, a long film at 20 minutes.

‘The story needed that length because it’s very character driven,’ Ceyton said.

‘We needed to tie up the journey of the main character and his relationship with a girl from school and the artistic boy who helps him find the courage to change and break the cycle of anger. It is a coming of age story about connection and finding your place in the world.’

Ceyton’s film Small Boxes won best Australian short film and best screenplay at Flickerfest 2007.

‘Winning definitely puts you on the radar and secured us funding for The Ground Beneath from Screen Australia,’ she said.

‘The festival is a fantastic platform to get your film seen and because it’s highly regarded around the world, it opens up doors to other international film festivals.

‘It’s also a testament to Flickerfest that they have such great support from the industry. And short films are a calling card towards feature film making so, on many levels the festival is a stepping stone and an important element in the Australian film industry.’

The 10-day short film festival kicks off on Friday, January 9 at Bondi Beach with screenings and an opening night party and closes on January 18.

It then hits the road for a 19-venue national tour from January to March.