Brisbane will stage a 16-day international film festival featuring about 60 films from the Asia Pacific starting on November 29, the city's Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced today.
Quirk said the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF) would be a re-imaging of the State Government’s Brisbane International Film Festival, funded in part by a $700,000-a-year grant from Screen Queensland and delivered by Brisbane Marketing.
Screen Queensland earlier this month announced Brisbane Marketing would take the reins of staging the international film festival. It will provide $700,000 a year for three years to Brisbane Marketing as part of its Screen Culture funding program towards staging the festival in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Kiki Fung from Screen Queensland will head the programming of the new-look festival.
“The Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival will be a high-calibre film event showcasing the filmmakers, films and documentaries of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA),” Quirk said.
“Free public screenings and ticketed events will be held from Saturday 29 November to Sunday 14 December including themed programs, a special showcase of the winning films, filmmaker introductions and Q&As sessions.”
BAPFF will be an international screen industry event. In addition to the flagship screenings of films from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, BAPFF will present a specially-curated showcase of the creative and cultural breadth of the works of filmmakers from the Asia Pacific.
In 2013, for the first time, APSA presented a program of screenings giving local audiences the opportunity to preview the APSA-nominated films including Queensland and Australian premieres, award winners and box office hits.The screenings formed part of the judging screening program for the APSA International Jury.
Quirk said BAPFF would complement APSA in a much greater way and serve to confirm the vision for APSA to become a defining event for Brisbane.
“Brisbane Marketing will strive to provide corporate Brisbane with opportunities to align their business aspirations in key Asian markets with high profile celebrities from these markets.
“Corporate Brisbane will also be able to treat their staff and clients to the rich cultural immersion of the BAPFF screenings, workshops and investor events.
“BAPFF naturally complements APSA, Asia Pacific Cities Summit, the Australian Performing Arts Market and the Asia Pacific Triennial.”
APSA Executive Chairman Michael Hawkins said BAPFF would strengthen APSA’s profile in the Asia Pacific and locally. “Bringing these events together will make the films of Asia Pacific region more accessible for locals and visitors and we intend to ensure the people of Brisbane have every opportunity to get involved,” he said.
Brisbane screen culture pioneer and founding director of BIFF Anne Demy-Geroe welcomed the new event. “It’s wonderful to have a festival that builds on the long-standing legacy of the Asia Pacific work initiated during BIFF and continued through the work of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and its Academy, of which I am a member,” she said.
KEY DATES
Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival: November 29-December 14 2014
Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony: December 11 2014