The Byron Bay International Film Festival is back from October 21 to 30 with a ten-day program of premieres, panels and parties.
This year, there is a big focus on the short form and there are some stunners, including some great local works.
Festival Director, J’aimee Skippon-Volke, says that short films are an amazing creative space for filmmakers to really hone their talent.
‘It’s a chance to genuinely work out whether people actually want to be a filmmaker or not,’ she says.
Quality local films
Skippon-Volke says one of the things she also noticed about the selection that came into the 2022 edition was that the quality of the local films was quite exceptional.
Skippon-Volke says she is excited about screening Shane Crosland’s The Chieftan Of The Pudding Race: ‘I think what I really love about Shane and his team’s project was the ambition that it showed. It really is like a love-hate letter to Byron, which I think is how a lot of us locals feel at the moment.’
Crosland says COVID-19 gave him the time to write a script that sparked his interest and love for directing.
‘This is the first time I’ve directed a film and entered a festival,’ he told The Echo.
Crosland says he hopes the takeaway from The Chieftan Of The Pudding Race is that the tourist towns and busy towns around the world are condensed into national melting pots. ‘I hope people realise the kind of social ironies and contradictions that are constantly instigated upon us as people that we don’t really realise – subconsciously projected through us.’
Production Manager on The Chieftan Of The Pudding Race is Kimberley Vecsei who says part of her role was to rally the community. ‘It was so exciting to see how many people genuinely just wanted to be a part of it. This community is so full of creative, willing people to get involved. And that’s what actually got this whole thing made. It was amazing.’
Skippon-Volke says the program is now locked in. ‘We’ve had a couple of years of small-scale special editions, and this is our first step to getting back to what we were.
‘We’ve been slammed by floods and COVID-19, and now we are looking for volunteers and the support of the community for this massive celebration of film.’
Visit www.bbff.com.au for more information.
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