Date night at the Heart of Gold International Film Festival opening night. Beer included. Silly people.Individually, you might find it hard to believe either of these two people have ever had sex, but together….quite the couple, don’t you think?Short films are the best for people like me with short attention spans and who like variety. They’re the tapas of cinema.Our excellent friends, Karen & Luke. Like my handbag? Tell me I know what it takes to be a good husband.I think I’m so funny. I’m not.Opening night speeches.That’s me and my friends to the right of the speaker on stage. We thought we were inconspicuous. Until the screen above our heads became the focal point of the event. Shit.The lighting of the heart by local elder.There was a big burning heart, so we obviously needed a photo together.
No wonder I couldn’t find Tracey at one point. She was in the next town taking this photo.Opening night shorts were fantastic. We especially LOVED The Spa, which ended up taking out three awards and stared Star Wars’s Jay Laga’aia. And some other guys, one of whom had huge nipples. That’ll sound odd until you see the movie. Four movies in and I’d kicked my stubby over and dropped my phone. And the people at the door wondered why we wanted to sit away from everyone else…Waiting to meet Margaret McHugh after her master class on hybrid documentaries. Miss12 loves making movies so we dragged her kicking and screaming out of school (no resistance at all).Margaret McHugh, a wonderful filmmaker whose The Drovers Boy was featured at the event. The Drovers Boy tells the true story of aboriginal women who cut their hair and worked as men when the government outlawed women drovers. Less than a minute after this photo Tracey was apologising because her phone went off during the talk. I thought it was hilarious until I suddenly thought it was my bum calling her. It was the school. Sick kid.I don’t know who these people are, but the camera loves them so they must be wonderful.We took Grandma and Grandad along with us for the Family Animation viewing. And to draw doodles.They gave out balloons for dad’s to blow up for their kids. I have a LOT of kids. It took some time.
They had popcorn, $2 a bag. We bought about $20 worth. Still, no one had enough to share with me.
This guy is from Doodles, an ABC Me production where they animate kids’ drawings.It’s always nerve wrecking, showing off a piece you’ve poured your heart into for others to critique. Welcome to the world of being a creative, Miss6.You would be forgiven for thinking Miss9 wears glasses. She doesn’t. She just found these in our dresses before we left home and decided it was today’s look.My Dad ‘helping’ the kids.My Dad ‘not helping’ Tracey with her photo. Grandad sat with the kids while the drew doodles while I found strange women to hug.Look who I met! Jody, from Stay at Home Mum. She’s strange so we hugged. I know why you insisted you go under and me over now too, Jody. How big does my arm look! Not muscle big either, dammit, Jody.Dad came back from the loo shortly after this looking a little shaken. He asked someone where it was and when they pointed at a door he headed in. Only it was the lady’s. He’s my father alright. No paternity test needed.
Nothing was up to Miss9’s high standards she sets for herself. I tried to submit one of her art pieces and nearly lost an eye. Maybe next year.
This activity went on all day and is one of the funnest things for the kids to get involved in at the festival. And it’s free!
I do this bottom lip thing. Until this photo I didn’t realise Miss4 did. Poor poppet.
Cinema was packed for Family Animation session. But then any room feels crowded when the Devereaux’s arrive.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel the hardest thing about sitting in a cinema has to be choosing the right moments to let off wind.
Please tell me it’s not just me.
Heart of Gold is an internationally recognised film festival and we are so lucky to have so many good people working together to bring it to our town. Drama, fantasy, animation, comedy, family, documentary. It’s all here.
Michael Caton was one of the judges this year. Michael – or as I know him, Darryl Kerrigan – is an old boy of the area and was supposed to be in town for the festival but had a last minute film commitment he had to honour. I was really looking forward to getting a photo and annoying him by wittily telling him I dug another hole, but not this year.
Spread over four days, there really is something for everyone, with the short movies clumped into sessions with titles like Animal World, For Love, Irish Shorts, Change Encounters and Coffee & Comedy. If it sounds like fun, I urge you to mark your calendars for the beginning of October next year so you can try make it here, even if it’s just for a day.
After all, like I said, they have popcorn.
For anyone interested in looking these things up, my short film picks from the weekend are: Spice Sisters, The Spa and Stick Man.
And a last minute inclusion to the program, Gus, which I felt was added just for my benefit. It was about farting.
Raising a family on little more than laughs
this is not a sponsored post – although we did get invited by the HOG to check out their event and I did drink their beer
