Starstruck.
Film-lovers will descend on the Hunter Valley this weekend as the Dungog Festival gets underway.
Gillian Armstrong’s 1982 rock musical comedy Starstruck, digitally restored by the National Film and Sound Archive, forms the centerpiece of the festival’s film program. Starstruck designer Brian Thomson (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert) will appear in conversation.
The festival is held at Dungog's James Theatre, the oldest continually running cinema in Australia, and is set to screen a variety of features and docos, along with panel talks, interviews and a short film competition.
Among the documentaries to screen are Aussie films Reindeer in my Saami Heart, The Coffee Man, Destination Arnold and Motorkite Dreaming.
In addition, AFTRS has joined forces with the festival to present a virtual reality lounge showcasing the school's VR project, VR Noir: A Day Before the Night.
The short film competition, with a prize pool of $30,000, is set to be a festival highlight. The competition is split into ten separate sessions across the festival including Australian fiction and documentary, young filmmakers under 25, international shorts and music videos.
After the awards, the Australian Directors’ Guild and Metro Screen are set to announce a new scholarship initiative for emerging filmmakers, designed to continue the work of Metro Screen in encouraging up-and-comers.
Dungog Festival takes place October 27 to October 30.