We are hot on the heels of the 15th annual Gold Coast Film Festival. The event will screen 32 feature films from 13 countries, including four World premieres, nine Australian premieres and eight Queensland premieres, plus a host of short films, events, panels, and intimate Q&A’s with filmmakers.
The city’s flagship film event has confirmed the Queensland premiere of Pork Pie which will open the Festival on Wednesday 19 April. Director Matt Murphy, producer Tom Hern, executive producer Alan Harris and star James Rolleston attending.
Inspired by the iconic 1981 Kiwi classic, Goodbye Pork Pie, the film captures the story of mismatched trio of accidental outlaws, played by Dean O’Gorman (The Hobbit), Ashleigh Cummings (Puberty Blues) and James Rolleston (Boy), as they speed across New Zealand in a stolen MINI Cooper on a madcap caper filled with unexpected detours and hilarious encounters.
The Festival has also secured the Australian premiere of the much-anticipated sci-fi film, SFV1: The Osiris Child. Director Shane Abbess and actor Isabel Lucas (Transformers, Daybreakers, Home and Away) will be in attendance for an Q&A session following the film’s screening on Friday 21 April.
Directors, writers, cast and crew members will attend a number of film premieres for special Q&A sessions following the films including writer/ director Gerald Rascionato, on Wednesday 26 April, for his upcoming thriller Cage Dive, writer/director Romi Trower for her upcoming drama What If It Works, and Academy Award winning sound designer David White, as part of a Q&A for the World Premiere of Out Of The Shadows.
The presence of the Gold Coast Film Festival will also transform the city, with a number of attractions and events. The main event will be the brand new activation space at Robina Town Centre. The Centre will be the hub for Documentary Season at Event Cinemas Robina, featuring four enlightening documentaries that will immerse audiences into the lives of a young weightlifter, an indigenous ballet dancer, a visionary artist and an Australian charity worker.
On Friday 28 April, the centre will also feature Brewed at the Kitchens – an evening of coffee demonstrations, espresso martinis, tastings and a unique film screening of Barista, which follows competitors at the World Barista Championship.
Film magic will also touch the southern end of the Gold Coast as it receives an entirely new film event – Surf Classics at Coolangatta. The two-day free event will celebrate the swinging 60’s and surf culture with a night of entertainment, competition and classic cinema with Endless Summer on top of the stunning Kirra Hill on Saturday 29 April, followed by a screening of family-favourite Surfs Up on Sunday 30 April.
Also new to the Gold Coast Film Festival is Hopfest: Pulp Fiction in the Brewery, taking place at Burleigh Brewing Co on Saturday 22 April; Script to Screen with India Dupre on Sunday 23 April, featuring a free live script reading of Stripped which tells the true story of Margaret Dupre, a colorful character and single British mother who became a local 80’s icon; plus Anzac Movie on the Green, a special 30th anniversary screening of classic Australian film, The Lighthorsemen, to be introduced by the film’s director Simon Wincer who will also take part in a special Q&A session after the film on Saturday 29 April.
Other special events at the 2017 Festival include Movie Trivia Night; Zoolander Model Boat Party; SIPFest, an annual short film competition featuring 12 short 10-minute cinematic masterpieces by emerging filmmakers from around Australia; and the screening of some the best from the London Short Film Festival.
The 15th annual Gold Coast Film Festival will run from April 19-30.
For all the information and the full program, check out the official site HERE.
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