{"id":123819,"date":"2026-07-07T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=123819"},"modified":"2026-07-02T01:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:07:27","slug":"biennial-film-fest-brings-top-shorts-to-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/living\/biennial-film-fest-brings-top-shorts-to-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Biennial film fest brings top shorts to town"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOME of the best short films from across the country are set to screen in Ballarat next month.<\/p>\n

The third biennial Poco Film Fest will open with a Short Film Screening Gala on Saturday evening 1 August at the Palace Regent Cinema, followed by an afternoon of guest talks and workshops on Sunday 2 August at The Goods Shed’s Terminus Theatre.<\/p>\n

Poco is dedicated to Australian stories and filmmakers and since it started as a small community idea in 2022, it has grown into one of Ballarat’s popular niche cultural events.<\/p>\n

“We want people to see some of the most beautiful, touching and heartfelt stories that normally wouldn’t come to the region,” festival director Luke Keys said.<\/p>\n

“There’s a real community of creatives here.<\/p>\n

\"Poco
Poco Film Fest director Luke Keys. Photo: City of Ballarat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

“We wanted to give something back while indulging our own creative passions.”<\/p>\n

For local creatives, Poco also offers access to opportunities often limited to major cities.<\/p>\n

Filmmakers can screen their work publicly, experience it on the big screen, and take part in industry conversations.<\/p>\n

“We’re especially pleased to see students and younger filmmakers volunteer, produce films, or simply come along to watch,” Keys said.<\/p>\n

This year the festival is deepening its program through a new partnership with Film Festivals Australia.<\/p>\n

Led by industry professional Steve Bastoni alongside Meg Pascoe, the organisation will curate the festival’s second day of talks and workshops.<\/p>\n

“It’s amazing to see the diversity of storytelling from different regions,” Keys said.<\/p>\n

“We’re bringing the best of Australian short films right here to Ballarat.”<\/p>\n

Tickets have gone on sale in recent days at pocofilmfest.com.au<\/a> with volunteer opportunities also up for grabs.<\/p>\n

The Poco Film Fest is supported through the City of Ballarat’s Tourism Events Grant Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SOME of the best short films from across the country are set to screen in Ballarat next month. The third biennial Poco Film Fest will open with a Short Film Screening Gala on Saturday evening 1 August at the Palace Regent Cinema, followed by an afternoon of guest talks and workshops on Sunday 2 August […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":123886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"featured_section_post":"main_featured","home_featured_section_post":"main_featured","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-123819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBiennial film fest brings top shorts to town - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The third biennial Poco Film Fest will open with a Short Film Screening Gala on Saturday evening 1 August at the Palace Regent.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/living\/biennial-film-fest-brings-top-shorts-to-town\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biennial film fest brings top shorts to town - 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