Click on the image below for a snapshot of the 2019 Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival – as captured by the amazing Penny Ryan Photography.
YOUTH UNSTOPPABLE – Opening night gala
Special guest, lifelong environmental activist, BOB BROWN, will be joining us on stage to show his support for the Castlemaine School Strike 4 Climate youth. Tickets selling fast!
RICHARD FLANAGAN live on stage in Castlemaine for an exclusive screening of Life After Death followed by a Q&A with former ABC Radio presenter, Derek Guille.
THE PONDS – Australian premiere screening. Friday 19 July – 10.30am
Writer, explorer and social commentator, ROBYN DAVIDSON (Tracks book and film), will be appearing on stage after the screening in conversation with the film director, Patrick McLennan, sharing her experiences of outdoor swimming in a community environment. Not to be missed.
The Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival is an annual three day event held across the third weekend in July at the iconic Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, mainland Australia’s longest continuously operating cinema.
The Festival is an immersive experience of 12 films in 1 cinema across 3 days.
It features a world-class program showcasing the very best in Australian and international non-fiction films. Audiences explore fascinating worlds and cultures together, bringing them face to face with real-life characters, real-life stories and real-world problems.
The festival provides a deep and enriching experience by connecting audiences with many of the film directors and key contributors by way of live in venue and live via Skype Q&A sessions, uncovering the stories behind the stories, as well as specialist panel discussions.
Curated by dual Emmy Award-winning director, Geoffrey Smith, the Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival celebrates diversity, profiles the global issues of our time (and times past), creates community, challenges injustices and holds people and governments to account.
In an increasingly virtual world lived online, more and more people are craving the authenticity that comes from documentary film. Be it real-life characters, real-life stories or real-world problems, feature-length documentaries now easily compete with fiction films in terms of emotional engagement, character development, story arc and unforgettable moments. As well as showing fascinating people in fascinating worlds, documentary films challenge injustices, hold people and governments to account, and bring audiences face to face with the pressing problems of our age.
Castlemaine is an easy 90 minute drive from Melbourne, 1 hour from Ballarat and under 1 hour from Bendigo, Daylesford, Kyneton and Woodend.
Why not make a weekend of it? There’s plenty of accommodation options to suit most budgets.
Read more.