In sad news last month, it was announced that the annual Gold Coast Film Festival (due to commence next week) would no longer be taking place in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hinting in their announcement that they would be looking at one-off events throughout the year, it turns out that they have been working on adapting two of their flagship events – SIPFest and Screen Industry Gala Awards into an online format. Details of both have been announced today.
Enjoy some short films over the Easter long weekend
SIPFEST (Shorts in Paradise Festival) is the annual free beachside short film festival co-presented by the Gold Coast Film Festival and Surfers Paradise Alliance. Surfers Paradise’s beach may be closed, but you can enjoy all thirteen films offered this year online! Viewers will be able to submit their vote for the $1,000 People’s Choice Award online as well. Interested parties are invited to dress in whatever they feel like, perch in-front of their PC or smart television, and enjoy these films at their leisure from Thursday 9 April 2020 until Tuesday 14 April 2020. The films being screened include:
- Date Night – Marni Little, Christine Milo
- Eye for an Eye – Elizabeth Cullen
- I Don’t Speak – Tess Emmerson
- Lost Daylight – Nurdewi Djamal, Callan Murray
- MANUS – Angus McDonald
- My Name is Mudju – Chantelle Murray
- Desert Island Secret Santa – Pearce Hoskinson
- Phone it In – Darien Law
- The Bus to Birra Birra – TJ Power
- The Perfect Spread – Billy Milionis
- The Starey Bampire – Dan Farmer, Adam Bigum
- Yulubidyl – Until the End – Nathan Mewett, Curtis Taylor
- Back to Gracelane – Sakari Sankkinen
A gala which can be enjoyed in your pyajamas
The red carpet may not be rolling out this year for the annual Screen Industry Gala Awards, but the event is being adapted into a live-stream award ceremony format. $20,000 in cash and prizes are up for grabs by those nominated with support of many local and national organisations.
The steam will be held on 16 April at 6.30pm, to coincide with the originally planned event date. 14 award categories will have their recipients announced, recognising the best short films, webseries, feature films and scripts that were due to feature at the festival as well as award recognition for Gold Coast screen industry professionals and Queensland screen businesses. Here’s hoping that some of these feature films, short films and scripts get the opportunity to feature in future Gold Coast Film Festival events! You can register your intention to view the proceedings HERE.
In a fun twist to the typical gala dress code of formal, those viewing the stream at home are invited to wear red-carpet glamour up top but get comfortable in their PJ’s down below.
What they have to say…
While we were heartbroken the festival was cancelled after it had already been curated and announced, we were more devasted for the filmmakers. Filmmakers have poured so much of their talent, money and time into their films – sometimes over years – and it is a such a loss to not have the opportunity to screen or premiere now.
We have worked to find the best way to support filmmakers and we are so grateful to our prize sponsors who have still committed to cash and prizes for this event. I’m sure the prizes will come at a vital time for many in the screen industry right now.
Hopefully, we can all join together for one night and celebrate the winners in this difficult time and support Australian short films by watching SIPFEST for free.
Lucy Fisher
CEO and Festival Director of The Gold Coast Film Festival
The Gold Coast Film Festival is one of our most exciting annual cultural events and, whilst I share the disappointment in the cancellation of the event, I am thrilled our community can continue to access the short film program online and that our many and talented filmmakers are recognised for their contribution.
Mayor Tom Tate
Gold Coast Mayor
Events like SIPFEST are vital when it comes to keeping people connected. That’s why it’s great to see the festival go ahead in 2020. These are incredibly challenging times for our tourism and events industries. It’s more important than ever before that we work together and support each other during these tough times.
Moving SIPFEST and the Screen Industry Gala Awards online means film fans will still have the opportunity to connect with the festival and we’ll be able to celebrate the industry’s recent achievements. SIPFEST is a great local event with a big future on the Gold Coast. We’ll continue to support this event and help local filmmakers to achieve great things.
The Honourable Kate Jones MP
Queensland Minister for Tourism and Industry Development
Now more than ever people are engaging with screen content to connect, entertain and inspire, and they want to support local creatives. We are thrilled that the team at Gold Coast Film Festival have responded swiftly to this audience demand for Queensland content, and are continuing to celebrate and recognise local industry talent.
Kylie Munnich
CEO of Screen Queensland
