Top left: Diane and Nigel Buesst, and Klaus Limp on opening night.
By Kath Gannaway
BARRY Bales will go out of his way for a good film festival.
And Warburton, according to Barry, fits the bill.
Mr Bales, a film and television reviewer with the Swan Hill Guardian, and a dedicated film buff, has made the 900 kilometre round trip on and off since the Warburton Film Festival started 27 years ago.
The festival, organised by the Yarra Ranges Film Society, opened on Friday with the Show Us Your Shorts film competition followed on Saturday with an all-Australian program. Sunday reached out to the world, with films from Japan, Russia and Lebanon.
Mr Bales said he was unashamedly recidivist when it came to the festival and fully expected to be back next year.
“It’s partly meeting up with friends, partly the films and partly because of the way the festival is run – good food, good company – it all ticks along very nicely,” he said before heading back into the Mecca Theatre on a rainy Sunday afternoon for the last of the festival’s nine films.
He is a fan of the big-screen, theatre experience. “When the lights go down, you are concentrating entirely on the film. You become part of the viewing experience and pick up the audience reactions,” he said. “It’s much better to laugh in a comedy when others are laughing with you.”
Mr Bales was impressed with the mix of films and particularly with the society’s decision to highlight Australian cinema on the Saturday.
“They are to be praised,” he said. “They are very welcoming and put on a great festival.”
YRFS vice-president Ida Haanappel said the festival had been very successful. “The response from the audiences was fantastic, the lunches were excellent and the dinner was great,” she said.
There were more than 20 entrants into the young persons’ film competition Show Us Your Shorts.
Joel Loxton from the Victorian College of the Arts won the Golden Shorts for Best Short Film of the festival.
Bethany Milkins from Swinburne University won the best senior short film for over 18 year olds and Matthew Jane from Scotch College won the best junior short film award.
The YRFS runs monthly films at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre in Warburton. For details visit www.yarrarangesfilmsociety.org.au.
