For the fifth year in a row, Hobart’s quaint Peacock Theatre in Salamanca Place was overrun with female filmmakers and audiences primed for horror and genre movies with a focus on women’s perspectives. Co-founded by young Tasmanian filmmakers Briony Kidd and Rebecca Thomson, and largely volunteer-run, The Stranger With My Face International Film Festival (4 – 7 May)http://www.strangerwithmyface.com/ is a unique event that’s far more than a girlie horror fan club. It’s a festival that combines screenings of new work by local and international genre filmmakers, as well as retrospectives, networking events, and an invitation-only mentoring program (The Attic Lab) designed to actually midwife new films into the world by pairing emerging talents with established guests.
Voted one of the Top 5 Coolest Women’s Film Festivals in the world by Movie Maker Magazine in 2013, SWMFIFF has grown in scope and confidence, while retaining its intimate and cosy Tassie vibe. With just one big screen, this is the kind of festival where you can meet every other audience member and visiting filmmaker either in the cinema or at the bar. And, transcending its initial brief to feature horror, the program is now designed to have something for everyone – from hardcore horror to gentle, dreamy ghost stories, uncanny thrillers, and the odd comedic bloodbath thrown in.
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On closing night of the festival, THE BOOK OF BIRDIE was awarded 'Best Feature Film.'
We were thrilled to participate in this year's festival!
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| Award winners and guests: Director Gaylene Preston, Cinematographer Sandi Sissel, Director Kaitlin Tinker, Director Elizabeth E Schuch |
