Big Brand Film Festival: “I’m going to focus on features and government funded films as if no other films are made in Australia (or that other films made in Australia don’t really count).

DestFest: “I won’t”.

BBFF: “I’m going to hold a panel about how to compete with your fellow filmmakers for government funding this round”.

DF: “I won’t”.

BBFF: “I’m going to hold a pitching competition so you can win an opportunity to make a film”.

DF: “I won’t”.

BBFF: “I’m going to spend thousands of dollars flying an American into Australia to tell you how to write the perfect script”.

DF: “I won’t”.

DF: “I’m going to encourage culture instead of industry, community instead of competition, artistic inventiveness instead of commercial compromise, and passion instead of toeing the party line. I’m going to ask filmmakers and film artists to take centre stage regardless of whether or not you’ve heard of them, whether they’ve been to Film School, been tagged as “the next big thing”, won an AFI award or received any government funding”.

BBFF: “Um…”

Saturday November 24: Vote 1 DestFest

November 24 is an exciting day for Australia: it marks the first Federal Election to come along in along time where the stakes actually mean something to the electorate. For the first time since the Hawke-Fraser years we have been jolted out if our political malaise…

November 24 also marks the first week of Destination , the first film festival produced by Carriageworks.

While nowhere near as important as the other ‘big event’ this Saturday perhaps ‘DestFest’ might also mark a little turning point of its own in our film festival culture. It will usher in a film event in Sydney that reflects the goodwill, collective passion, diverse points of view, anarchy, ingenuity, madness, blithe energy, creative spirit and industriousness that are part and parcel of making movies. And art. And art movies. And movie art.

Serious fun.