CASTLEMAINE DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL
Real stories. Real issues. Real characters. Real conversations.
Midwinter gets pretty cosy at the Castlemaine Documentary Festival, held annually in the town of Castlemaine on Djaara Country in central Victoria.
Take a seat at Theatre Royal, the oldest running cinema in Australia, and be transported to other realities via some of the best new documentary films the world has to offer.
Over three days and three nights experience a curated program of eight Australian and international non-fiction films – a micro-cinema yurt screening for the younger set – and between times filmmaker Q&As, industry events, media explorations and the festival party.
The 9th Castlemaine Documentary Festival
2023 "NO ONE HAS THE LAST WORD"
In 2023 we let the voices speak and hear what they have to say to us. They are as entertaining as they are authoritative and generous, challenging our preconceived notions and norms, and inviting us to step into the lives of others and see their worlds.
From the flavours of family to how we ensure the future security of our food, to experiencing the exhilarating tension as we see what’s happening deep beneath the ice caps; from a moving story of gender equity & equality on the sporting field to the maverick, Elvis-singing teacher who arms his young charges with lessons from Plato; from the coming together of ancient cultures in a surprising take on our colonial past; to the women trailblazers at the forefront of the birth of photojournalism, to the the unraveling intrigue of secret, double lives in a wildly entertaining film about a 1980s art heist.
As well, we introduce a new venue The Yurt – our beautiful micro-cinema with an alternative program of family-friendly sessions across the Saturday & Sunday mornings and enticing programs for youth – and an immersive interactive parlour game, Werewolves – for those who dare!
Closing night the extraordinary early silent masterpiece, GRASS – made in 1925 accompanied by a live music score by ZÖJ – a Ballarat-based duo featuring the exquisite voice of Gelareh Pour and Persian Kamancheh, and Brian O’Dwyer on drum kit.
FULL PROGRAM
OPENING NIGHT FRIDAY
LOCALS
11:00am SAT 17th JUNE
A program featuring documentary shorts, showcasing our stories and the talents of our region.
From a film about what it means to be a Local to a deep dive into the story of women writers on the goldfields history, to the practice of one of our most loved regional artists...
LOCALS has something for everyone, including prizes for the best films given the audience vote on the night
SATURDAY
Three trailblazers enter uncharted territory for women and stand in the midst of world history in their combat boots.
WATANDAR MY COUNTRYMAN
2:00pm SAT 17th JUNE
“The Afghan cameleer descendants featured in WATANDAR, MY COUNTRYMAN, are indigenous, colonial and immigrants at the same time. When Muzafa decided to photograph them, we started filming. His experience as a former Afghan-Hazara refugee, along with his wisdom and charisma, presented a rare opportunity to re-examine Australia’s colonial history.” Jolyon Hoff, Director
Followed by Panel Discussion
world PREMIERE
equal the contest
5:00pm SAT 17th June
When the rules exclude you, rewrite them.
When a filmmaker joins a new local women’s footy club in central Victoria, a simple desire to play becomes a complex journey of inclusion and belonging. An unexpected turn of events means the team has to fight to play. Their campaign challenges age-old traditions and joins the wider movement for gender equity.
Followed by Panel Discussion
THE THIEF COLLECTOR
FOLLOWED BY PARTY WITH M79
8:00pm SAT 17th JUNE
It was one of the most audacious and puzzling crimes of a generation: the theft of one of the most valuable paintings of the 20th century.
THE THIEF COLLECTOR unravels the deeper layers of this infamous heist, exploring the complicated dynamics of family, the contours of criminality, and just how far people are willing to go to weave their own grandiose narratives.
SATURDAY NIGHT PARTY WITH M79
9:30PM SATURDAY 17TH JUNE THEATRE ROYAFollowing the screening of THE THIEF COLLECTOR stick around for an 80’s Art Heist themed party and dance with M79 live!
SUNDAY
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
INTO THE ICE
11:00am SUN 18th JUNE
INTO THE ICE follows a number of ground-breaking and dangerous research expeditions over the Greenland Inland Ice Sheet. The ice at the poles is melting.
Follow some of the world’s leading glaciologists deep - quite literally - into the heart of climate change. They risk their lives to search for new and essential data to help answer one of the most urgent questions of our time: how fast is the Arctic melting?
The answer lies with the ice itself.
WEED & WINE
2:00pm SUN 18th june
Continents apart, two farming families aim to re-invent themselves on their land. One family tends a centuries-old biodynamic vineyard in France. On the other side of the world in California, another family manages a state-sanctioned cannabis farm.
Can weed - long relegated to the criminal shadows - become the new wine? And can the ancient French wine-making culture survive intact into the 21st century as climate change and a new generation of millennial winemakers challenge the old guard?
YOUNG PLATO
5:00pm SUN 18th JUNE
An all-boys primary school in post-conflict Belfast, Northern Ireland, becomes a hothouse for questioning violence, as the headmaster sends his young wards home each day armed with the wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers.
The boys challenge their parents and neighbors to forsake the prejudice that has kept this low-level civil war on the boil for decades.
Followed by Panel Discussion
ACCOMPANIED BY LIVE SCORE BY ZÖJ
GRASS
8:30pm SUN 18th JUNE
The extraordinary early silent masterpiece made in 1925, GRASS will be accompanied by a live-music performance composed by ZOJ - a Ballarat-based duo featuring the exquisite voice of Gelareh Pour, playing the Persian kamancheh, and Brian O’Dwyer on drum-kit.
GRASS is testament to the sheer forces of nature and the human spirit as we witness the annual migration of the nomadic Bakhtiari tribe across Iran with half a million animals.
THE YURT PROGRAM
MONGOLIAN BLING
5:30pm FRI 16th JUN
Forget about monks, its hip-hop that's making Mongolia move!
SECRETS IN THE SCAT
11:00am SAT 17th JUNE
11:00am SUN 18th JUNE
Join Biologists on a hunt for the clues hidden in animal poo!
For KIDS and FAMILIES.
KEEP STEPPING
2:0Opm SAT 17th JUNE
Two dancers battle in the underground world of competitive street dance.
CAMP DIFFERENT
5:00pm SAT 17th JUNE
50 young people , came together to share an extraordinary experience, attending a camp for three days to make a film about being different. This is what happened…
WEREWOLVES!
12:30pm SAT 17th JUNE
6:00pm SAT 17th JUNE
Not a film but an interactive game where players sit in a circle and are assigned roles by the game- master. Can the villagers identify the werewolves before everyone dies?
TERROR NULLIUS
2:00pm SUN 18th JUNE
Part political satire, eco-horror and road movie, this is a revenge fable which offers an unwriting of Australian national mythologies.
CASTLEMAINE WARRIORS
3:30pm SUN 18th JUNE
The unbelievable story of how history was remade in Castlemaine.
WEREWOLVES!
12:30pm SUN 18th JUNE
Not a film but an interactive game where players sit in a circle and are assigned roles by the game- master. Can the villagers identify the werewolves before everyone dies?
SENSILAB
A collaboration between SensiLab and CDoc
EXTENDED REALITY (XR) SHOWCASE
introducing the possibilities of XR for storytelling to the local community.
OUR FESTIVAL PARTNERS
We are very grateful for our Partners who help C-Doc Ltd to invest in, and develop, our cultural landscape.
