“A Town Like Winton” Telstra Country Wide Short Film Competition
“A Town Like Winton” is a new short film competition staged as part of the inaugural Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival being staged in Winton, Outback Queensland from the 27th June to the 6th July, 2014.
An initiative of the Winton community and the non-profit Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival, the purpose of the competition to reignite interest in the role of the Outback as part of Australian culture.
“Some of the best known examples of Australian cinema tend to be films that have been shot in the outback and that is why we’ve developed a film program of Outback inspired films”, said Festival Curator and University of New South Wales film lecturer, Dr Greg Dolgopolov. “To further capture the spirit of the Outback we’re holding a short film competition called A Town Like Winton”.
The focus would be to make a film no longer than 7-minutes on the topic “A Town Like Winton”. The film can be fiction or documentary, funny or sad but it has to be memorable, significant and lasting.
“Especially geared towards independent film makers and students, films of less than 7 minutes are being called for submission”, explains Dr Dolgopolov. “Films can be fiction or documentary, funny or sad but it has to be memorable, significant and lasting. It doesn’t have to be about Winton, but about a “Town like Winton”.
Films will be reviewed by a jury of film professionals in the first week of the Festival to shortlist all the submissions. The best films will be screened on the Saturday night, 5th July at the Royal Open Air Theatre at a special awards ceremony with celebrity judges selecting the Best Film and an Audience Award.
“To further enhance the competition, Telstra Country Wide are partnering with us, specifically with the Audience Award where the audience will vote by clap of hands, under the Outback stars of the Royal Theatre in Winton” explains Dr Dolgopolov.
Telstra Country Wide representative Area, General Manager May Boisen outlined the partnership further noting “We wanted to assist the community of Winton and Outback Queensland to be connected with wider Australia by supporting this new short film competition. We will be we’re boosting Telstra connections throughout the event to beam Winton across Australia”.
“Supporting our customers and the local community through programs such as Telstra’s Kids Fund and sponsorships such as the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival is important to the Southern Queensland Telstra team who live and work in the local community” said May.
The best film will be awarded $1,000 cash in prize money and the film maker will be an attachment on the filming of Bill Leimbach’s feature film, “Waltzing Matilda”.
“I’ve been captivated by Winton’s landscape and its significant role in Australia’s heritage. It’s been a big decider in us selecting this region to make my new film about the writing of Waltzing Matilda . It’s the home of the song, Banjo Paterson wrote it here and it should be filmed here’, explains producer, Mr Bill Leimbach. “I’m honoured to be a judge of this short film competition and to have the winner as an attachment on the film”
The audience award winner will receive $500 cash in prize money and a new Sony Experia Z2 tablet compliments of Telstra Country Wide.
For more details on the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival and the Telstra Country Wide Short Film Competition CLICK HERE
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
Dr Greg Dolgopolov, Festival Curator, M: 0424 610 123
Ms May Boisen, Area General Manager, Telstra M: 0427 740 144
Mr Bill Leimbach, Lucky Country Productions, Film Producer, Judge M: 0414 425519
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Krista Hauritz, M: 0421 148 098 E: krista@kristahauritz.com.au