By KATH GANNAWAY
IT TOOK just three years for the Warburton Film Society to move from a fledgling group of film-buffs running a monthly film night, to launching a film festival which now draws patrons from around Victoria each year.
Inaugural society member Maggie Sail opened the first festival in June 1983 and was back on stage again on Friday night to open the 30th Warburton Film Festival at The Mecca theatre in Warburton.
Festival patron, acclaimed Australian director Paul Cox was among many special guests who included past committee members, return patrons and Jock and Di Chambers whose son Ryan was the driving force for Davor Dirlic’s documentary Missing In The Land of Gods – a festival highlight.
Another highlight was the sixth annual ‘Show us your Shorts’ competition, a relatively recent inclusion by what is now the Yarra Ranges Film Society that aims at fostering and supporting young film-makers.
“It seems a very long time ago that we were a small group of enthusiasts getting together to form the Warburton Film Society in 1980,” Ms Sail said.
She said they ran monthly films and had a vision of creating an annual film festival for Warburton.
“In the ’80s it was much harder to get to theatres showing art house and foreign films and unusual documentaries.
“Our aim for both our film society and the annual film festival was to provide films of great merit, foreign and Australian feature films and documentaries, always preceded by unusual short films.”
She said the Saturday night film was followed by a party geared to a theme of the main film and was great fun.
She commented on the many improvements, including the recent move to digital films and congratulated the current committee saying the festival had gone from strength to strength over the years.
YRFS president Joseph Guthrie said the big improvement had been the sound system.
“It’s the thing we have had the most positive comments on,” he said, noting that balancing the books were the numerous observations about the seats – the same red leather theatre seats original film festival patrons sat on.
He said highlights of the festival were Show us your Shorts with the Golden Short Award won by Dale Menz for ’Taking Stocks’, and having directors Paul Cox, David Pulbrook and Davor Dirlic and Di and Jock Chambers as special guests.
Dirlic’s documentary Missing In The Land of Gods followed the Chambers on their last visit in 2012 to find their son Ryan who went missing in Northern India in 2005.
The Chambers said the festival had been a wonderful experience with a sense of connection with people who felt comfortable to share their own tragic experiences.
Mr Guthrie said the festival had been a great success.
“We’ve had very good attendances with people coming from considerable distances, and a lot of people coming back each year.
“I think it would have to be the best year yet,” he said.
See page 2 for more Warburton Film Festival photos.
