Movies highlighting corrupt mining practices and rugby league players tossed on the scrap heap – both talking points in Australian society today – played to rapturous audiences at the third annual Vision Splendid Film Festival at Winton on the weekend.
The open-air Royal Theatre, nearly unique in Australian movie folklore, was packed out on Friday when the latest film to be shot around Winton, Goldstone, was screened for the festival’s opening night.
Both director Ivan Sen and lead actor Aaron Pedersen were present on the night, as was Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey, standing in for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Mr Bailey said Winton, which has taken on the nickname of Hollywood of the Outback, was now an important part of the film world, something it should be proud of.
Local MP Rob Katter was also present on the opening night, saying Winton’s welcoming ways were a large part of the reason the film industry was attracted to the region and contributing to the success of the fledgling festival.
“This is just brilliant,” he said. “The area has been doing it tough with drought, but someone forgot to tell Winton that.”
ANZ’s regional business banking general manager Christine Linden, a major festival sponsor, took her hat off to Winton for going ahead with “a crazy idea” three years ago, one she said was now gaining international acclaim.
“It’s economic impact is fundamentally important and hats off to those who had the vision,” she said.
By the end of the weekend, attendance numbers at Winton’s Vision Splendid third annual film festival were 35 per cent up on last year’s figures, confirming for organisers and backers that they were building a well-recognised brand.
As well as being able to watch Goldstone, starring Aaron Pedersen as indigenous detective Jay Swan, which was largely filmed around the tiny town of Middleton, west of Winton, audiences were treated to the Gladstone-filmed rugby league movie, Broke.
Although it has a sporting theme, the Heath Davis-directed movie was more about what happens to sports stars when the cheering ends and was voted best film at the Kiwi International Film Festival and Las Vegas Independent Film Festival.
Later this week audiences will be able to view outback horror film Red Billabong before its national screening in August.