City’s cinephiles set for silver screen season

THE Ballarat Film Society is set to kick off another year of thought-provoking cinema next month.

Sue Nunn, the film society’s president, said the 2026 season would start on Thursday 12 February at the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute with a screening of the animation eco film Flow.

She said the society had 120 members who enjoyed cinema that was presented monthly in the institute’s Minerva Space.

The society, which began in the 1950s, celebrated its 70th anniversary last year.

“We’ve grown over the years terrifically,” Ms Nunn said. “It’s sort of going upwards in membership, it certainly hasn’t been going downwards.”

Ms Nunn described the movie as an “eco fable”. It was chosen as part of the society’s mission to present compelling films to the Ballarat community.

The 2024 film from Latvian director Gints Zilbralodis features a group of animals that must work together to survive after a flood.

“The 11-month program, once-a-month screening adds up to a selection of films that you can go to for a year and meet up with various friends there and talk about interesting and evocative films,” Ms Nunn said.

“You are trying to bring up issues that are meaningful and that people can engage with.”

She said film societies rose to prominence after the second world war to promote the many benefits of the medium.

“They were created to bring people together to advance their screen culture,” Ms Nunn said.

Flow will be screened at the institute at 7.30pm, with doors opening at 7pm.

To enter, society memberships can be paid on 12 February at the door. Yearly memberships cost $60, and $30 for six months.

For more information, visit ballaratfilmsociety.weebly.com, or contact Ms Nunn on 0400 885 672.