Canowindra’s annual screening of short film festival Flickerfest has found a new home, with this year’s event set to be held at the Royal Hotel.
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In previous years, the festival has been screened at Rosnay Organic however organiser Sam Statham said he was looking to breathe new life into the event this year.
“We wanted to take the short film festival to a new level by bringing it to the people,” he said.
“It was very popular at Rosnay but it started to plateau and we realised there’s a lot more people who would enjoy the films if they could just walk to see the films and see them in their main street.”
The plan is to screen the films in the hotel’s carpark on a giant, inflatable screen.
Mr Statham said he’s already had great feedback about the move.
“Already our Facebook events page has had a lot of RSVPs just in three days, I’m quite optimistic we will have a full carpark of people enjoying these films.”
The evening will also feature a wine tasting and holding the event at the pub will allow families to enjoy a meal as well as some of Australia’s best short films.
“People enjoy watching films under the stars, the good thing here is there is a wet weather option in the courtyard,” Sam said.
“We've got a couple of new wine sponsors, Windowrie and Tamburlaine, we’ll be doing a bit of a wine tasting event here at the bar.
“People can just rock up, bring the family before the films start and they can have dinner here.”
Royal Hotel Canowindra Manager Peter Newton said the team at the pub were looking forward to the event.
“I think it is a fantastic idea and it give us the opportunity to provide something a little bit different for the town,” he said.
“It’s a little bit out of the norm for us and I think the night will be quite successful, I think it’s great.”
Children’s films will be a highlight of this year’s screening, with both Mr Statham and Mr Newton encouraging residents and visitors to bring the whole family along for a fun night out.
“The other thing about this year’s Flickerfest is that it really is family-focused,” Sam said.
“There’s still funny shorts for adults but their really focused on kids entertainment.”
“We’ve always tried to project the Royal as a family-friendly hotel, we get a lot of children in here with their parents for dinner of a night time,” Mr Newton said.
“To have Flickerfest come here as well, it’s just another bonus for the town. People can walk here, bring the families along, it’s nice and close.
“A win-win for both of us.”
Depending on the success of the night, Mr Statham says there are plans to get a youth film festival established in Canowindra and a possible second Flickerfest screening later in the year, with a focus on comedic short films.
“This is part of trying to build a bit more of culture of short films in town by screening filming Flickerfest and then a few years down the track, we may start our own film festival,” he said.
“It will be a kids film festival, it will be for kids with grants and scholarships for kids to learn how to make short films, maybe to buy or hire equipment.
“Watch this space.”
Flickerfest will be held on Saturday, April 7 at 7pm at the Royal Hotel, Canowindra.
Tickets are $20 for adults.
For more information or bookings, contact Rosnay on 02 6344 3215.