Opening Night

Speech Excerpt: Renae Hardie Braovich, Festival Director

“We had an outstanding response of 137 entries across five of our six categories, from 10 seconds to 10 minutes in length, and from entrants aged 6 to 85 years of age. Across the film festival, we will screen 71 projects out of the number of entries submitted. We have had locals and visitors from out of town alike use the region of Rockingham as a backdrop for their stories, and despite the short submission time, the spread of COVID-19, and significant winter rainfall, many persevered until the deadline. And we’re proud of  everyone that tried.

All of these shortlisted projects that will be screened tonight and during the festival, have all captured a part of the local scenery or feature an identifiable landmark, or known to be filmed in Rockingham — something we asked for, because another goal of this festival was to bring the community closer. In the past five months, we brought people from across WA to Rockingham. And tonight, we brought you all here.