Occasional blog - The 'Benalla Shorts' Film Festival - update

North East Artisans is auspicing the Benalla Shorts Film Festival, with the Events Gallery the venue for screenings at 2.pm and 8. pm on April 8th during the Wall to Wall Art Festival..  . 

The inaugural Benalla Shorts Film Festival

Held at BPACC for the first time in late November 2014, 10 films varying in style, length and genre from all over Australia were shown at the inaugural Benalla Shorts Film Festival.. The winner was Venetia Taylor (Broken Hill) who received $1,000 from the Friends of BPACC for her 2 minute comedy Counsellor.   Local resident Hayley Warnock received the Benalla Lions Club $500 encouragement award for her under 2 minutes fiction animation Top Delight.   Grace O’Brien (Wangaratta) picked up the $500.secondary student award from the Rotary Club of Benalla for Tradition, her fiction film under 8 minutes .  Don Percy (Melbourne) won the Friends of BPACC People’s Choice Award of $500 for his hilarious 7 minute comedy Makeover (which later screened at Swanpool Cinema's 'Made in Melbourne' short film festival.)  

FILM: MAKEOVER (2013) from Don Percy on Vimeo.

Benalla Shorts Film Festival 2016

The second Benalla Shorts Film Festival in February 2016 was presented at BPACC by Friends of BPACC (Benalla Performing Arts & Convention Centre), with Anna Smith and Bernice Vance the organizers. .Judges were Frank Bruzzese (winner of the AACTA Award for Producing  Hamish & Andy and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering); Dave Forster (writer for Masterchef and international award winning  short film maker), and Polly Staniford from Aquarius films.  Polly has produced documentaries for the ABC; written and directed 10 short films; won the St. Kilda Short Film Festival with Joey and recently completed a feature film in Berlin.

Venetia Taylor received both the Judges Award of $1,000 from the Friends of BPACC and the People’s Choice award of $200 from the West End Post Office for her comedy ‘Venice’ -  ‘Josh is in Venice, Mum is in Sydney.  John doesn’t understand backpacking, Mum doesn’t understand Skype.’  The heartwarming music documentary ‘Something to Crow About’, directed/produced by Sebastian Broadbent, won Benalla Lions Club's Encouragement Award of $250. . 'In the heart of coal country in rural Victoria, the Strzelecki Stringbusters gather once a month to play old-time and bluegrass music at their local pub., finding friendship and galvanizing community in the process'.  

Gemma Keating received the $250 Student Award sponsored by the Rotary Club of Benalla for her fantasy fiction film ‘Mixtape’.  ‘Upon purchasing an old cassette tape from an opportunity shop, Harmony, a simple teenage girl, discovers that it carries more than just music..a spooky yet hilarious curse’.  Thomas Bridges picked up the Student Encouragement award of $100 sponsored by the Bendigo Bank, Benalla, for his fiction drama ‘Submerge’ which focuses on the idea that feeling sad can be better than feeling nothing at all.  Landmark, Benalla sponsored the Achievement Award of $200, which was picked up by the inspirational EdSpace Learning Centre.  

Gifts for the Judges, Benalla Shorts, BPACC 2016.

​Benalla Shorts 2017
The 2017 Benalla Shorts film festival is  to be held at NEA on April 8th during the Wall to Wall Art Festival. Award categories - Judges Award; Open Encouragement Award; Student Award and People's Choice Award. 

Benalla Shorts organizer and NEA member Anna Smith organized a fundraising event during the Benalla Festival to provide funds for the prizes attached to the film festival. The 'Cup Eve Picnic Party' was held at the Benalla Race Course on Monday 31 October with prizes for Vintage Race Wear (opp shop!),  Fashions on the field, a sweep, phantom race call, fund activities and dance.   NEA's Merv Beamish donated a painting as first prize in the phantom 'Cup Call' sweep--Tim Bowtell is photographed presenting Merv's painting to surprised winner Laurie Watters.  

​With the April screenings only months away, Anna organized an information session at the Benalla Library on January 11th to inform the community about 'Benalla Shorts'..  A number of short films were shown, including films by speakers Gemma Keating and Rhonda Missen'. Anna introduced the audience to Gemma and Rhonda who answered their questions in a most engaging and informative way.

​Tim Schloss and Anna spent time 'scoping' the events room for the April screenings last week.  They estimate that 60 seats will be available for each session, making early bookings a good idea once tickets are released. 

The deadline for entries for the 2017 Festival is coming up - 28th February.

For further information about Benalla Shorts, email benallashorts@outlook.com; write to Benalla Shorts, PO Box 563, Benalla Vic 3672 or check out the website at benallashorts.com . 


Bev Lee

​**'The Occasional Blogger' is open for submissions by NEA members.  Send copy to northeastartisans.projects@gmail.com .