HEART OF GOLD RETURNS: Australia’s Most Loved Short Film Festival Expands with 4 Days of Short Films, Music & More
Australia’s biggest regional short film festival, Heart of Gold, has announced a significant expansion for a special 2022 edition.
Alongside 4 days of international and Australian short films, the festival will host a future of cinema pavilion with VR and video art works, and an outdoor festival hub featuring live music & storytelling with a focus on film, First Nations storytelling & the environment.
The festival will run 6 - 9 October 2022 in the south of Gympie - 2 hours from Brisbane or just half an hour from the Sunshine Coast.
The 13th edition will see the festival continue its unique mix of charming country town tradition with international arts culture for an experience unlike anything else on the national festival scene. Since its 2006 inception, Heart of Gold showcases works with an uplifting, inspiring, or thought-provoking spirit and attracts bright sparks of the national film scene for four days of networking, parties and workshops.
“This year we’re extending that heart of gold spirit into a range of new programming that will really fill out the festival experience,” explains festival director Jackson Lapsley Scott. “You’ll be able to spend full days at the festival - waltzing between film premieres, crazy VR experiences, talks from great speakers, food truck eats, and music-filled evenings chatting with filmmakers from across the country.”
Hosted for the first time in the expansive Gympie Pavilion, the 2022 event will stretch across a distinctive blend of indoor and outdoor spaces and create a more immersive festival experience for its patrons. A new outdoor moonlight cinema will be added to the 2 indoor screening rooms, allowing extra sessions and enchanting evening experiences.
The Front Yard is a new hub for eating, drinking, socialising & entertainment. This comfortable curated outdoor area serviced by food trucks, the Golden Bar and festival cafe will centre on a stage programmed with music, talks, dance and more over the four days and nights of the festival. Access is free and Jackson hopes the community will see the space as a pop-up venue they can use to catch up with friends and make their own.
Also free of charge is the future of cinema pavilion, The Prospect. This initiative, situated inside two big tents, includes a line-up of VR, AR and immersive experiences; a program of experimental video work; and a suite of masterclasses teaching hands-on skills for emerging storytelling technologies.
Heart of Gold’s Family Day on Sunday 9 October will offer youth-focussed sessions, a live dance-along stage show, markets, children’s workshops, a big communal art project and an outdoor family screening & community barbeque.
Staying true to their 16 year history, heartwarming and diverse short films will be at the centre of Heart of Gold. Local creatives will screen their works alongside international filmmakers who have been featured at the likes of Cannes, Berlinale, Venice and Sundance Film Festivals. Many of these 140+ shorts will be screening to Australian audiences for the very first time.
“We’ve watched about 300 films by now, and expect to watch another 300 before we lock programming,” explains programmer Nancy Cao. “Jackson has just returned from Cannes and has brought some gems back that we’re excited to screen!”
Films selected for the festival play in competition for a spread of competitive cash prizes totalling over $10,000, to be judged by an industry jury. The festival is known for its warm country town hospitality toward guest filmmakers which includes homestays, volunteer drivers, networking events, parties and more. They are currently accepting submissions via FilmFreeway.
All this news comes on the heels of last week’s launch of Heart of Gold’s ‘Golden Evenings’ - a tour of short films & live music that will visit theatres in Pomona, Toowoomba, Maryborough and Maleny through June and July, with tickets on sale now.
Heart of Gold will announce more lineup details over the coming months, with festival tickets on sale in September. Pre-release tickets will be made available for mailing list subscribers, with the signup link on the festival website - heartofgold.com.au. Follow the festival on Facebook for the latest.
Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival 2022 is made possible by the support of the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand [RISE] Fund – an Australian Government initiative; and the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland's Screen Culture Funding program
Golden Evenings is supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland's Screen Culture Funding program
The Prospect is made possible by the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund, an Australian Government program designed to benefit regional and remote arts practitioners, arts workers, audiences and communities. The fund is provided through Regional Arts Australia and is administered in Queensland by Flying Arts Alliance.
