BREATH OF FRESH AIR
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2020 Dates Announced
Hello everybody.
With the year fast coming to a close we are proud to announce our 2020 Festival dates, for BOFA 2020 (#BOFA2020) as:
Launceston Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd May,2020
Hobart Friday 15th – Sunday 17th May, 2020
After a very successful 2019 trial of BOFA Hobart, BOFA 2020 will curate festivals of equal size in both Launceston and Hobart. Films from Tasmania, Australia and the world’s best films are being chosen right now with new categories joining the line up including Irish Stories, Climate Action and The Good Life. Let us know if you have any suggestions. The majority of films will have Q & A sessions so you can hear from the film makers, experts and the audience about the issues raised by the subject and production. We’re finalising details on a major Tasmanian Short Film Competition with original works on the Tasmanian themes plus the best of Tasmanian film makers’ shorts. The BOFA Fringe screenings of classics in quirky locations will be expanded and will also run in Hobart. The Day on the Kingsway in Launceston will be back again bigger and better on Sunday 3rd May. AND, of course, there will be parties to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. Put the dates in your diary now!
Photo: Ross Coffey
Sam Neill wins AACTA’s highest Award
We all remember having Sam Neill and Gillian Armstrong at BOFA 2019 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of My Brilliant Career – and what a thrill to meet them and learn more about the making of that Australian classic.
Now, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has just announced that Sam Neill, one of Australia and New Zealand’s most admired and respected actors, has been honoured with the Australian Academy’s most prestigious award – the Longford Lyell Award. This is in recognition of his 130 screen and TV roles and his truly outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Australia’s screen environment and culture.
Characteristically modest, Sam’s reaction was: "I am very thrilled by this honour indeed. And very surprised! Let me check just in case they’ve made a mistake …"
The Nightingale sweeps AACTA Awards
Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale, a dark exploration of Tasmania’s colonial past, swept most of the film categories at the AACTA awards, winning best film, best direction, best actress and best screenplay.
After the runaway success of her directorial debut, The Babadook (BOFA 2014), Kent’s colonial revenge drama drew controversy – and wide acclaim – for its confronting depiction of rape and violence during the frontier war massacres in Tasmania. The Nightingale had already nabbed two awards at the AACTAS’ first celebration earlier in the week: for best casting and best supporting actress for Magnolia Maymuru.
The Great Regional City Challenge
BOFA is proud to be the official Tasmanian film festival, and using film to inspire positive change. These two threads combine in BOFA’s support (launcestontogether.com.au/campaign-partners) for the Great Regional City Challenge. This community led initiative has raised over $100,000 to support the drive to make Launceston one of the great regional cities of the world. If you have a project that could contribute to making the greater Launceston region more creative and innovative, more liveable, more diverse in its economy and community, and more connected and networked then go to launcestontogether.com.au/grcc-introduction for more details on how to apply.
