No images? Click here All good things must end! As the final credits roll, it’s time to turn up the house lights, tap on the microphone, ask if we can be heard at the back, and give thanks to everyone involved in making the free BOFA Online festival such a stupendous success…well, a virtual thanks anyway. To all those partners, web designers and others who did the seemingly impossible and got this online festival up in the space of two weeks – a profound thank you. To the brave filmmakers and distributors who took a deep breath and signed on to this “new normal” film fest - here’s to you. And, finally, to you, our wonderful BOFA community now stretching from Hobart to Darwin, from Perth to Cairns, from Woolgoolga to Cygnet - we thank you for joining BOFA on the SOFA ….. we couldn’t have done it without you. On a personal note, we’ve been humbled by all the support and kind words flowing in from around Australia. This has inspired us to keep building the festival, and see if we can combine both in-person and virtual screenings and events for years to come. Meantime, we wish you a happy return from iso-C19. Stay subscribed for the next exciting episode! Helen, Owen and the BOFA team PS: Help us plan what’s next by taking a few minutes to complete our online (of course!) Survey Monkey here. And the Winners are... What a flood of Top 5 picks entries – and what heart-warming and insightful responses. The 5 winners of a premium pack of Tamar Valley Truffles products or a bottle of award winning 42degreeS wine are presented here with a brief excerpt from their entry: 1. Paul of Brisbane - Of all the presentations, Women of the Island probably impressed me the most .....I have always been impressed by women (!), but here we have them in their full glory: outspoken, gifted, creative, resilient, independent; If we needed any evidence for the saga that Tasmania is no backwater, then this is it, and these women are its protagonists. 2. Marsha of Melbourne - Your creative and generous response of making your festival available online for free was much appreciated.....Adam - A quiet, intimate film of great emotional depth. Beautifully composed and lit, well directed and acted. I appreciated the film’s feminist sensibility, sparse music and dialogue, and empathy for its characters. 3. Helen of Hobart - Expedition To the End of the World: Magnificent landscape, wrapped in an edgy, modern, relevant package. Captured the powerful environment without sentiment. Quirky, interesting, thoughtful conversations from the diverse group. Spot on now. yes! 4. Don of Launceston - My fave five remind us:That rogue waves in our lives should be expected and are not the exception. (Rogue Waves.) That nature always humbles and inspires us with her beauty, dignity and wildness. (Okavango.); That we have much to learn about managing the planet from the land’s original inhabitants . (Wilder than Wild.) 5. Valerie of Melbourne - Thank you for this brilliant initiative whilst we have been in lockdown..... ‘Of Horses and Men’. I’m still smiling when I think of its quirkiness. Hopefully fiction is stranger than fact! Veins of the World’. The macro meets the micro in a finely crafted tale of love and loss. Three BOFA gems are still live online STILL ONLINE are the short films of Tasmania’s Women of the Island, recordings of BOFA’s popular Zoom CONVERSATIONS with panels made up of film makers and subject experts discussing issues like bushfires, wine making, renewable energy and people making a difference, and the online Cinematic Art Exhibition. Cinematic Art Exhibition brings together Tasmania-based artists to share their experience and shared memories of the power of movies. From the whimsical and unique narrative and animation style of Felix Colgrave and Michael Linhart to the poetic cinephotographic works of Troy Ruffels and Justin McShane, Cinematic opens a film framed window into the influence of film on art. Your next online fix Whilst BOFA online is over for another year there are more festivals coming online: Sydney South African Film Festival - HumanKind Film Festival - screening now until May 24 We Are One Global Film Festival - Sydney Film Festival - Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF 681/2) - Here’s a good luck story to close with REMADE Creatives Online, Tasmania-wide media streaming club asked for help raising $5,000 to commission 15 artists to each create three videos using smartphones, about the making of their entry into REMADE, a wearable art show using recycled materials. They not only exceeded their target (one BOFA fan donated $1,000!) but Creative Partnerships Australia’s ACF Boost program will now give them a matching $5,000. A huge “thank you” to all you generous people. |