show shoot shine time

Over the weekend saw the running of the fifth Hillside Film Festival at the Cameo Outdoor cinema in Belgrave. The festival provides young Victorian Filmmakers with an opportunity for their work to be shown on the big screen.

From left to right: Tilla Buden - Festival Director, Corey O'Meara - Festival Producer and me on night one of the festival. The Shire of Yarra Ranges supports Hillside Film Festival with a cultural development grant.

On Friday night the festival opened with a screening of Surfing 50 States, a surf film made by Jonno Durrant and Stefan Hunt who went to the United States with the intention of surfing in every state in the US (and they did, water or no water). It was a great movie, innovative, quirky and resourceful, it captured the spirit of the Hillside Film Festival.

It was a great festival, 8 short films making the final cut for screening on Saturday night with The Laundromat by Timothy Melville taking out the winning prize. It has been terrific to watch this festival grow and grow over the past five years. From humble beginnings, the last two years have been a sell out. It remains a highlight on the arts calendar in the hills and I look forward to the next one.