Flickering lights for the big screen
Australia’s only Academy accredited and BAFTA recognised short film festival, Flickerfest, will celebrate its 21st Birthday with its 2012 season premiering at Bondi’s iconic Pavilion from Friday January 6.
Not only is Flickerfest one of Australia’s leading competitive short film festivals, it is also committed to nurturing emerging Australian film industry talent, demonstrated through this year’s record number of 2200 entries.
The Festival provides emerging filmmakers with opportunities to further their careers with assistance from industry professionals.
Director of Flickerfest, Bronwyn Kidd, believes it’s about showing dedication and commitment to the passion and quality of the films. “It’s about seeing those gems come through, and providing Australian audiences with an opportunity to see [the] films.
One of the key speakers at this year’s festival is Oscar and Emmy nominated filmaker, Jon Bloom.
“He’s going to present his favourite Oscar shorts and he’ll also be presenting networking and filmmaking workshops for filmmakers. It’s a big honour for us,” Ms Kidd said.
A fiercely contested competition, Flickerfest has categories of both International and Australian short films ranging from comedy to documentary, drama to animation.
Flickerfest awards a host of industry prizes recognising the high standards of the short film entries including the ING DIRECT Award for Best Short Film and the Yoram Gross Award for Best Animation. The winners of these prizes are then eligible to qualify for an Academy or BAFTA nomination.
This season will see a return of 2011’s successful Greenflicks initiative, a programme of environmentally themed films. Ms Kidd said: “[Greenflicks] was borne out of the passion we have at the Festival to be aware of our carbon footprint, be aware of being sustainable.
“This year we’re serving all organic food and beverages. It’s about showing a commitment to our environment.”
There will also be a return of the popular Flickerup contest for high school and primary age students.
After wrapping up its 10 day season at Bondi Beach, the festival will tour Australia visiting over 37 venues nationally.
This season Flickerfest will be held from January 6-15 at Bondi Beach.
