FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 12, 2020
ARTS AND MUSIC INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHTS TO JUDGE THE 14TH BYRON BAY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Byron Bay International Film Festival has announced an impressive line-up of arts and music industry heavyweights to judge their annual Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards. The Festival takes place between Friday October 23 and Sunday November 1, 2020.
Among a growing list of judges, many of whom have attended in previous years, are actors Jack Thompson, David Wenham and Madeleine West, film critic and historian David Stratton, television and radio presenter Richard Wilkins, two-time Emmy Award winning artist and filmmaker Lynette Wallworth, one of Australia’s brightest rising stars Joel Jackson, Surfing royalty Layne Beachley, Bob Hurley and Paige Alms as well as musicians Jon Farris, Bernard Fanning, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and the supremo of Frontier Touring and the Mushroom Group, Michael Gudinski, who said:
“I am thrilled to be asked to judge the music category awards for The Byron Bay Film Festival 2020. Through difficult times, we all have a part to play and need to work together on the road to recovery and the Byron Bay International Film Festival is paving the way”.
The nominees will be highlighted online in the lead up to the Festival dates with winners announced across the festival’s 10 days.
Festival Director J’aimee Skippon Volke said: “It’s so heartening that, in this strange new world, our Festival will not only go ahead, both physically and virtually, but will be available globally through our online platforms. I am so thrilled to welcome our judges, all of whom are stars, pioneers and leaders in their chosen field, to this year’s judging panels. I value their knowledge and integrity and I am excited to see the results of the 15 categories of the Awards.”
While Film Festivals around the world have been forced to create virtual editions for 2020, the team at the Byron Bay International Film Festival have created a unique Covid-19 safe response - developing a hybrid festival experience comprising of physical screenings, a star-studded Film Competition and the opportunity to experience a screening at Byron’s iconic lighthouse from anywhere in the world.
The Festival will be rolling out the red carpet and presenting a select season of films at its two Byron venues, Palace Cinemas and The Byron Theatre. For those locked out of Australia and NSW you’ll still get the opportunity to visit Byron and experience the Festival, as the BBFF team have built a Virtual Festival experience unlike any other.
So, while other festivals go ‘Virtual’ through Zoom and VOD, BBFF is taking the idea of a Virtual Festival to the next level.
An immersive magical full moon big screen theatre at Byron’s lighthouse has been created in VR. Although created in Virtual Reality, you won’t need a VR helmet to transport yourself to Byron; this session can be accessed on your phone, tablet or computer, through Facebook. Those armed with the right technology can, however, jump in and experience it in its full 360° glory.
The Festival will use this unique virtual theatre to share the work of the 10 nominees for its Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Award. A centrepiece of the festival since 2007 this category celebrates the work of Australian Directors under the age of 25.
Prized by filmmakers, the awards span across 15 categories including Best Short Film, Music Documentary, Surf Film, Environmental Film, Cinematic VR Experience, Interactive VR experience and Best Screenplay.
For further information and media interviews contact: Lyn McCarthy, Media Manager [email protected] 0419 800484
JUDGES MINI-BIOGRAPHIES
JACK THOMPSON AM A National Treasure and major figure in the Australian Film Industry. Star of films like Breaker Morant, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, Australia, Merry Christmas Mister Lawrence, (alongside David Bowie and Riyuichi Sakamoto), Jack Thompson has been at the forefront of the international film industry
DAVID WENHAM Perhaps best known to Australians as ‘Diver Dan’ in SeaChange, actor David Wenham is a major international talent with key roles in Hollywood blockbusters, The Lord of The Rings trilogy, Van Helsing, the 300 movies and Pirates of The Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales. He is currently filming Elvis alongside Tom Hanks.
MICHAEL GUDINSKI AM Known as ‘the father of the Australian music industry’, Michael Gudinski is the supremo of Frontier Touring, and the creator of ABC TV’s ‘The Sound’. The founder of the Mushroom Group, he is, arguably, the most influential figure in contemporary Australian music.
BERNARD FANNING Musician, singer-songwriter and best known as lead singer of the beloved band, Powderfinger, Bernard Fanning also has successful business interests in venues and recording facilities.
JON FARRISS Not just the drummer with inXs, Jon Farriss is a multi- instrumentalist, songwriter, producer and audio engineer. He has co- written several inXs songs,
LAYNE BEACHLEY AO A veritable superstar legend of world surfing, Layne Beachley is a seven times world champion surfer – and the ONLY person, male or female, to have won 6 consecutive world titles. Her hands and feet are enshrined in the Surfers Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach, California and she is both an Australian and US Surfing Hall of Famer. She currently serves as the Chair of Surfing Australia.
BOB HURLEY Bob is one of Surfer magazine’s ‘25 Most Powerful People in Surfing’, Bob Hurley went from shaping Hurley surfboards to buying the Billabong License for the USA and taking the brand global. Then doing a complete backflip, he left Billabong to form his own namesake brand, also turning that into a global industry
PAIGE ALMS Paige is a pro surfer and the first woman to become a Big Wave Champion in 2016 and was champion again in 2019.
LYNETTE WALWORTH Lynette is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, whose interactive installations have been exhibited at venues and festivals across the world, including the World Economic Forum, the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, the American Museum of Natural History, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, the Smithsonian; and the Sundance Film Festival.
JOEL JACKSON Joel is one of the fastest-rising actors in the business today. A lead role in Deadline Gallipoli led to the title role in Peter Allen – Not The Boy Next Door – for which he was awarded the Logie for Most Outstanding Newcomer.
NATALIE BASSINGWORTH Natalie is an Australian recording artist, actress and television personality with three Logie nominations under her belt, a stint as lead singer of electro-pop band Rogue Traders and a judge on The X Factor Australia.
MADELEINE WEST Madeline is an Australian actress known for her roles on Neighbours, Satisfaction, House Husbands, Underbelly and The Wrong Girl. She has six children which gave her ample material for her book Six Under Eight.
DAVID STRATTON David is an award-winning film critic, journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer. Best known for his time as Director of the Sydney Film Festival and for hosting The Movie Show with Margaret Pomeranz on both SBS and ABC.
RICHARD WILKINS is the Entertainment Editor for the Nine Network, co-host of Weekend Today and weekend announcer on smoothfm. Along with Joy Smithers, he was the original host of MTV Australia when it launched in 1987.