BOFA 2014 A BOX OFFICE SMASH SUCCESS! … and … On the Red Carpet

Monday:

Tasmania’s Breath of Fresh Air (BOFA) Film Festival lit up Launceston over the weekend with glamorous red carpet events, impassioned discussions for social change and of course, incredible films.

This year marked the fifth annual BOFA Festival, which kicked off on Thursday, November 6 and finished up for another year last night.

The continually increasing popularity of the Festival was clear, with this year’s BOFA showing a 60% box office growth compared to 2013 and one quarter of all the screenings being sell-outs.

BOFA 2014 opened with the help of the elegant and inspiring Ultra-Marathon runner, Samantha Gash, who is one of the subjects of the moving opening night film; the documentary Desert Runners. Gash had just returned to her home country of Australia after running 2,350kms for charity in South Africa.

This year’s Man Booker Prize winner, Richard Flanagan attended the retrospective screening of his film, The Sound of One Hand Clapping, to a packed house. Also in attendance was Arabella Wain, who played the 3-year-old Sonya in the 1998 film and Brett Kellaway, who was the head set designer and constructed the impressive Butlers Gorge set.

Other esteemed filmmaking guests included New Zealand’s Jeff McDonald and Bridget Lyons, who attended a sold-out screening of their film The Inheritance; a very personal account of the discovery of a history of Huntington’s Disease in Bridget’s family.

BOFA is certainly a festival that is about so much more than just enjoying the great films, and inspires tangible social change in our world. Following the captivating action session on Regional Innovation, State Growth, which took place on the Friday of the Festival, a working group has formed and already met, moving forward on the actions that were agreed to during this session.

The BOFA Devil Awards held on the Saturday of the Festival attracted filmmakers from all around the world. The Awards honoured short films, scripts, the display of entrepreneurial spirit, and a new award for a BOFA champion, which was presented to the talented filmmaker and producer, Trish Lake, who has been the artistic director for BOFA since 2011.

In a first for Australian Film Festivals, the You Be the Judge initiative invited film buffs all over Australia to apply to be the online judges of the Devil Short Film Competition. Up to 30 short films were selected for programming into the festival, screening before feature films and documentaries to BOFA audiences.

Given the vast geographic spread of all the short film entrants to this year’s BOFA Devil Short Film Competition, it’s clear that BOFA’s recognition as a crucial event for filmmakers the world over is becoming stronger.

The winner of the prize for Best Short Film went to Director Michael Johnson for To Be a Poet, about an award-winning slam poet named Abraham Nouk, who came to Australia from Sudan, unable to speak English. The winning team behind To Be a Poet received $1000, a VIP BOFA Festival Pass and a hand-crafted glass BOFA Devil Award designed and made by renowned Tasmanian master glassblower James Dodson.

Both Johnson and Nouk attended BOFA to pitch the concept of a feature length version of the story to the ‘Making Documentaries and Factual Content that Makes a Difference’ panel of experts (Phil Craig from the ABC, John Godfrey from SBS and Nick Batzias from Madman). The feature length version would be called Humble and would track Nouk’s journey as he retraces his steps across the globe from his neighbourhood in Sudan, through the slums of Egypt where he spent a year in exile, then all the way to his new home in Australia.

BOFA 2014 sped by with four jam-packed days of great films, lively discussion, delicious food and wine, and of course, wonderful company. Judging by this year’s successes, BOFA 2015 is sure to be even bigger and better. See you there!

Keep updated with news and updates on BOFA via social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BOFAFilmFest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BOFAFilmFest

Friday:

On the red carpet … Owen and Helen Tilbury with Mike Munro …

Last night the red carpet was rolled out in Launceston for Tasmania’s Breath of Fresh Air Film Festival.

Highlight of the night was star ultra-marathon competitor Samantha Cash, who joined the best of Australia’s film industry for the screening of the Desert Runners.

A glittering array of Australian and international screen names attended the event’s opening night, including acclaimed television journalist Mike Munro.

Festival Director Owen Tilbury was “delighted” with the success of the festival so far, which is now in its fifth year.

BOFA runs over the weekend and will screen some of the world’s most anticipated films and documentaries and presents enticing conversation with film makers and experts after each film.
Amy Owen, BOFA