By MICHELLE HERBISON
A new film festival will offer a taste of the big screen to Geelong’s next generation of cinematographic talent.
The inaugural Odyssey Geelong Film Festival will this December screen 16 short films by VCE media studies students.
Organiser and Lara Secondary College teacher Trent Edwards said the screenings would offer audiences an “eclectic mix” of styles and genres.
“There are a few short animation features, some sports-related content like downhill mountain biking, a couple of comedies and some good old classic narrative films that follow a story.”
Edwards said an apparent trend toward spy action films this year had surprised him.
“There’s a lot of double-agent super spy, James Bond-ish action-style material.”
Each film was “punchy and to the point”, running for about six or seven minutes, he said.
An Odyssey Geelong Film Festival mobile phone app would enable audiences to vote for their favourite films during the evening, with winners for best film and audience favourite announced at the end.
“It’s the only time you’re allowed to use a phone in the cinema,” Edwards laughed.
“You can vote in a star system of how much you like that film.”
A “democratic process” at local schools chose the films to be shown, with 11 schools involved.
“Some of the schools made it part of their curriculum to do a short film festival at their school and the ones who got voted for would go to the festival at the end of the year,” Edwards explained.
“I really wanted to have the opportunity for the students to show their hard work and passion for the subject to a wider audience.
“The sad thing is half of these films are screened at their respective schools and they don’t get seen after that.”
Edwards said students made the films independently for their final major assessment in VCE media studies.
Odyssey Geelong Film Festival will screen between 6pm and 9pm at Geelong’s Village Cinema on 4 December and at Torquay’s Surfworld the same month.
