CinefestOZ Albany 2022 kicks off in two weeks
CinefestOZ Albany 2022 is set to kick off in two weeks, with the festival set to deliver an exciting lineup of 18 features, 10 short films and a range of film, community and industry events.
Now in its second year, the festival has expanded from three days to four; once again shining a spotlight on the beautiful port city of Albany and the Great Southern region’s filmmaking talent.
Film Program
CinefestOZ Albany begins on Thursday, 28 April with Western Australian comedy-drama How To Please a Woman serving as the opening night film ahead of its Australia-wide cinema release on 19 May. The debut feature from writer/director Renée Webster (The Heights, Itch), the film stars English actress, television presenter and comedian Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Veep) in an intimate and entertaining insight into sexuality, female desire and ageing. Producers Tania Chambers and Judi Levine are set to introduce the screening and join an In Conversation Breakfast the following morning.
Throughout the festival, viewers will have the opportunity to watch a selection of Australian documentaries including WA’s Stage Changers, featuring a post-screening Q&A with director Ella Wright, Carbon: The Unauthorised Biography, Ithaka, Alick and Albert, Ablaze and Off Country. Unmissable Australian dramas include Ivan Sen’s Loveland, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, Bosch & Rockit, CinefestOZ Film Prize Finalist Here Out West and indie Albany feature Edward and Isabella.
Local short form content is also set to be a hit with audiences; screening Friday, 29 April is Spectacular Shorts – a program of six Western Australian short films – with filmmakers in attendance to participate in a Q&A. As CinefestOZ Albany wraps up, celebrate the closing night with a screening of Deadly Indigenous Shorts at the Gala on Saturday, 30 April.
Industry Program
CinefestOZ Albany has revealed their first ever Industry Program Workshop, taking place on Friday, 29 April and offering interviews and Q&A sessions with local and visiting filmmakers. The program is set to include:
- Indigenous Stories on Screen, with producer Jodie Bell from Goolarri Media Broome joining filmmakers Karla Hart (CinefestOZ Albany Ambassador) and Douglas Watkin for an in-depth discussion about the significance of telling Indigenous stories.
- Creating Local and Going Global, which will explore how filmmakers can learn from locally made, self-funded film Edward and Isabella.
- Meet the Producers, a panel featuring How to Please a Woman’s Judi Levine and Tania Chambers, Melissa Kelly from I Met a Girl and Joe (Joanne) Weatherstone from NSW’s Northern Pictures, who will discuss their industry successes, what it takes to develop an idea for the screen and what work we can expect from them next.
CinefestOZ Albany Ambassadors
CinefestOZ has named two Great Southern-raised famous faces as their ambassadors, filmmaker Karla Hart and actor Joel Jackson.
A proud Noongar woman, Karla was raised on Goreng country in the Great Southern taking her determination in telling First Nations stories to our screens. Her VR project Virtual Whadjuk came to CinefestOZ in 2021 and will return this year for the festival’s Kinjarling Koort event, a highly anticipated event designed to celebrate the Menang community and local filmmakers. Her short film Tooly is also set to screen at both Kinjarling Koort and in the Deadly Indigenous Shorts program.
A beloved friend of the festival, Albany born Joel Jackson has been an ambassador for CinefestOZ’s School Program as Chair of the Cinesnaps Competition Jury in 2021. Jackson currently stars in Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries and has previously adorned our screens with CinefestOZ Film Prize Winner H is For Happiness, CinefestOZ Film Prize Finalist Jungle and WA series Mystery Road. Joel features in WA drama I Met A Girl, which will make its Australian festival red carpet premiere at CinefestOZ Albany.
“Karla and Joel have been long standing friends of our festival who understand CinefestOZ’s community focus and represent the successes of Western Australians in the international film industry. We’re proud to officially welcome them as our CinefestOZ Albany Ambassadors.” said Margaret Buswell, CinefestOZ Chair.