Welcome

Some years ago I spent some time in New Orleans and fell in love with Creole cooking.

I met the owner of a great little bookstore who showed me a cookbook (she said her mother swore by it) called Talk About Good. Why am I talking about Creole cooking and a book? Because this year’s Festival feels like it has all the right ingredients and recipes – a gumbo for every palate – talk about good!

The festival has expanded considerably – 75 screenings, 41 films, 12 days – and served from the state-of-the-art facilities at the Dendy Cinemas and Arc Cinema. Screenings at the NFSA are legendary, and this year there are 5 totally gourmet selections, including Fassbinder’s epic. Another new ingredient is that most days will have screenings from lunch through to supper, so there’s an opportunity for everyone to taste what the world has to offer. Each day is jam packed with cinematic delights.

The Festival is only made possible through the commitment of our dedicated partners. The University of Canberra, our founding partner, continues its support, as does DHL Worldwide Express who constantly amaze us by how swiftly they transport prints around the globe.

Our Government partners, Festivals ACT and Screen Australia continue with zest, as do our media partners – The Canberra Times, 666 ABC Canberra and Prime Television – as they inform Canberra about what we cook up. Bluestar Print Group along with Bearcage Productions, provide a great platform for our visual feasts.

Our biggest thanks this year, however, goes to TransACT, the Gordon Ramsay of them all, who stepped in when the kitchen was at its hottest and secured our presence for another year. We cannot thank TransACT enough for rescuing the Festival amidst a trying financial melt down.

It’s Film Festival time again in Canberra and I hope you will devour what we serve up and savour each and every bite.

Michael Sergi
Artistic Director

PS: I forgot to say, Talk About Good sold 670,001 copies – could this be an omen for this year’s festival!