The Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF), formerly Gold Coast Film Fantastic, is an annual Australian

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

, held at the

Home of the Arts Home of the Arts (HOTA), opened as the Keith Hunt Community Entertainment and Arts Centre in 1986 and subsequently renamed The Arts Centre Gold Coast (TAC) and Gold Coast Arts Centre, is a cultural precinct situated in Surfers Paradise, City of ...

(HOTA) in Surfers Paradise,

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

. Founded in 2002 as a

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

festival, GCFF now delivers a program of

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

(SIPFEST),

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

film award Film award is a cinematic award which can be awarded in several categories. Unlike the film festival, the film award is not accompanied by a public screening of competitive films. Film awards are usually awarded based on the results of a secret vot ...

s, and special events.

History

Modelled on the

Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (french: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles, nl, Internationaal Festival van de Fantastische Fil ...

, the festival began with a focus on

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and

Science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

s. The first festival took place in August 2002, under the direction of Casey Marshall Siemer, with Oscar-winning visual effects specialist John Cox as patron. The early festivals were known as Gold Coast Film Fantastic, and ran for four days in Robina. The inaugural event screened 21 films and included a

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

retrospective. The third festival, which ran for a few days only, from 5 to 8 August 2004, took place at Robina. Sometime between late 2009 and January 2011, the festival expanded its focus and changed its name to Gold Coast Film Festival. The 2011 event was staged at Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas,

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

. In 2013 the Gold Coast Film Festival supported Australia's first online video maker award ceremony, the Australian Webstream Awards, and is supported by

ABC Gold Coast ABC Gold Coast (ACMA callsign: 4ABCRR) is an ABC Local Radio station. Based in the suburb of Mermaid Beach, the station broadcasts to the Gold Coast and surrounding hinterland in Queensland, covering as far south as Byron Bay in New South Wales ...

. Past director Mitch Ziems helped open the ceremony that took place at the

Metro Arts Theatre Metro Arts Theatre is a heritage-listed building, originally a warehouse and then a theatre complex, at 109-117 Edward Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1890. It has also been known as Community Arts Centre, Coron ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

on 16 November 2013. In 2014, under director Kylie Pascoe, the festival broadened its focus in terms of genre, and also started showing more international films. At that time the Gold Coast Film festival had a cultural partnership with

Supanova Pop Culture Expo Supanova Comic Con & Gaming (also known simply as Supanova) is a fan convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy film and TV, comic books, anime, gaming and collectables. It is held annually in the Australian cities of Sydney, Brisba ...

and QPOW! as a part of the Gold Coast's

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

heritage. The festival became known for its support of

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in the

Australian screen industry The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of '' The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internat ...

in 2016, and in 2018 was the venue for the launch of

Women in Film and Television Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) is a global network of non-profit membership chapters. Established in 1997, it is dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and ot ...

(WIFT) Australia. The 15th annual Gold Coast Film Festival ran from Wednesday 19 April – Sunday 30 April 2017 at venues across the Gold Coast. For the first time in its 15-year history, the Gold Coast Film Festival 2017 accepted submissions for feature films to screen at the event. In this year, with the support of

Screen Queensland Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which m ...

, GCFF became one of seven festivals to become a feature film qualifier for

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

. Lucy Fisher was

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and director of the festival from 2015 until the end of 2020. In 2021, Aimée Lindorff was director.

Description

The festival delivers a program of diverse Australian and international feature films, special events, seminars and workshops, special guests and art. Its purpose is to promote the dynamic and creative culture community and to encourage the next generation of homegrown filmmakers. It celebrates and promotes all aspects of

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

, and offers a culturally diverse program of films, including local independent films and national and international special guests within the film industry. The event also hosts a series of free filmmaking workshops and seminars, as well as the GCFF Future Filmmakers seminar held at

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...

for year 11 and 12 high school students who are interested in the film industry to learn from industry leaders. The 2023 event runs from 19 to 30 April 2023.

SIPFEST

The Shorts in Paradise Festival, known as SIPFEST, is a free event showcasing

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s from across Australia. Seven awards are on offer for these films.

Governance and funding

, Josh Martin is CEO, with Sue-Anne Chapman chair of the board.

Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...

is patron of the festival, while the three ambassadors are

Lincoln Lewis Lincoln Clay Lewis (born 24 October 1987) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles in the movie ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' and in the television series ''Home and Away'' and ''Slide''. Early life Lewis was born in Brisbane, Qu ...

, Sue Maslin and Jenny Cooney. The festival is supported by Screen Queensland,

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

, the tourism and events Queensland program, HOTA, and the

City of Gold Coast The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being the ...

. Other partners include

, Warner Bros. Movie World,

Village Roadshow Studios Village Roadshow Studios are a set of film studios located in Oxenford, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The studios are owned by Village Roadshow and consist of nine sound stages as well as a range of other production facilities. The studio ...

, and a number of other corporate sponsors.

Awards

Chauvel Award

The Chauvel Award, formerly awarded at the

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

(BIFF), was established in 1992 and named in honour of filmmaking couple

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and

Elsa Chauvel Elsa Chauvel, (''née'' Elsie May Wilcox; 10 February 1898 – 22 August 1983) was an Australian filmmaker and actress, and the wife and collaborator of film director Charles Chauvel. Elsa Chauvel was a pioneer in Australian film making, best ...

. Past recipients of the Chauvel Award include producer

Anthony Buckley Anthony Buckley AO (born 27 July 1937) is an Australian film editor and producer. Career On leaving school, Buckley went to work for Cinesound Productions as a projectionist and assistant editor. He worked in Canada and Britain before return ...

, directors Paul Cox and

Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer (born 4 May 1951) is a Dutch Australian film director. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in the Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old.

, actors

Bryan Brown Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include ''Breaker Morant'' (1980), ' ...

and

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy ...

, cinematographer

John Seale John Clement Seale ACS ASC (born 5 October 1942) is an Australian cinematographer. He won an Oscar for his work in the 1996 film ''The English Patient,'' in addition to a BAFTA and Satellite Award. He is a member of both the Australian Cin ...

, documentary makers Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson, and film critic

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

. The last award at BIFF was awarded posthumously to

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

in 2008, before being revived by GCFF in 2016. Since then, the winners include: *2016:

Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress, producer and scriptwriter. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film, '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in ''High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher in ...

*2017:

Deborah Mailman Deborah Jane Mailman (born 14 July 1972) is an Australian television and film actress, and singer. Mailman played the character Kelly Lewis on the Australian television series ''The Secret Life of Us'' and Cherie Butterfield in the Australian c ...

*2018: Sue Milliken *2019:

Sigrid Thornton Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes '' Prisoner'' (1979–80), '' All the Rivers Run'' (1983), '' SeaChange'' (1998–2019) and '' Wentworth'' (2016–2018 ...

*2021: Sue Maslin *2022:

Leah Purcell Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to role ...

*2023:

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

& Catherine Martin

Others

A number of other awards are given at the Gold Coast Film Festival. As of 2022 these are: *Best Australian Independent Film Award (A$5,000) *PKF Best Australian Film Award *Queensland Screenwriting Award *SIPFEST (Shorts in Paradise) – 7 categories *Best Australian Webseries *Best International Webseries *EMERGE! Student Short Films *Queensland Screen Business of the Year *Gold Coast Screen Professional of the Year

References

External links

* {{coord, display=title, -28.0764, 153.3853, format=dms, type:event_region:AU-QLD Film festivals in Queensland Fantasy and horror film festivals in Australia Culture of Gold Coast, Queensland Film festivals established in 2002 2002 establishments in Australia Australian film awards