The first weekend of the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival went incredibly well, showcasing some exciting films and offering audiences scintillating post-screening discussions with talented global filmmakers.
BAPFF Head Programmer Kiki Fung was in high spirits after three and a half days of film fever.
“The joy of sharing our passion for the films was accompanied by successive rides with super stars appearances, soulful performances, insightful Q&A and panel conversations – some turning into masterclasses,” said Fung.
“The daily travels among venues were exhausting but ultimately gratifying – the moment when you saw audience waiting in anticipation, and the moment when the first frame of a film shows up on screen.
“The festival is also about the beautiful faces and spirits behind the scenes: the smiles from our volunteers, the helping hands and emotional support from the team, the endurance of projectionists in accommodating our perfectionist quests; they all made the film festival – to date- magical and memorable.
“Above all, the thought that this is a shared experience with our audience is deeply moving. There are too many special moments to savour – and more to come!”
Did you make it along to opening night? Click for all the social pics.
Highlights of the past few days include a great crowd for the Australian Premiere of Early Winter at Palace Barracks on Saturday night. It was fantastic to have the film’s Brisbane-based Editor Geoffrey Lamb in the audience and to hear from Director Michael Rowe and Brisbane-based Producer Trish Lake following the screening.
Rowe discussed his style of story-telling and revealed that about 35 per cent of the film’s scenes were actually first-takes. The film is slated for Australian release next year so it was exciting to get an early look at the film. Early Winter screens again, with another Q&A on offer at New Farm Cinemas, 6:30pm Tuesday.
Australian Director/Cinematographer Christopher Doyle attended two screenings of his film Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled, Preoccupied, Preposterous over the weekend. He spoke alongside Producer Jenny Suen at the post-screening Q & A, commenting it was one of the best they have ever participated in!
It was also a fantastic vibe at the sold-out Queensland Premiere screening of Australian documentary Sherpa on Friday night, with adventure and film enthusiasts out in full force.
One of Iranian cinema’s superstars, Negar Javaherian, thrilled audiences at the Australian Premiere of A Minor Leap Down on Saturday night. It was a rare chance for her fans to hear about her career progression and the making of this award-winning film.
There was a lot of buzz around Hybrid Story Worlds at QUT’s The Cube, with packed panel sessions and plenty of people of all ages experiencing Virtual Reality (VR) games and short films, many for the first time.
The beautifully intimate performance from Brisbane-based Tibetan musician/composer Tenzin Choegyal at Friday night’s Australian Premiere of the APSA-nominated River was a delight for the Palace Barracks crowd on Friday night.
The programs curated by Sam Ho (Hong Kong) and Zeynep Özbatur Atakan (Turkey) were insightful and Brisbane film fans still have several opportunities to hear from these industry leaders.
Finally, a huge thanks to our legendary projectionist , who last night provided his private gear to accommodate three very important black and white films that were on 4:3. Normally the masking in Palace Barracks cannot be adjusted to fit films on this ratio but Michael rose to the challenge, which meant that It was a Cold Winter Night, Floating Clouds and The Story of a Discharged Prisoner looked as good as they possibly could on the big screen.
Don’t forget to download our free BAPFF App to plan your festival. Use it to select more fantastic films and book tickets.
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