Keep the Vibe ALIVE VOTING OPEN

Quit Victoria, in partnership with Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF), Minus18 and Thorne Harbour, has announced the commencement of online, public voting for their Keep the Vibe Alive film competition.

The competition aims to highlight smoking rates in the LGBTIQ community, which are up to three times higher than those in the general population; four short films have now been produced by the chosen finalists to show how smoking can “kill the vibe” in important moments.

Each finalist received a $4,000 grant to develop their written concept into a short film.

Screenwriter Benjamin Law and a panel of judges from Quit Victoria, MQFF, Minus18 and Thorne Harbour Health selected the finalists, from a field of more than 40 entries, based on criteria including innovation, creativity, relevance and relatability.

MQFF’s program director Spiro Economopoulos said the videos were all different and creative.

“The final videos ranged in style and focus with subject matter from Ghostbusters to topical legislative changes. The competition finalists have taken their $4,000 grants and created impactful works of art, which is a credit to the creative abilities of each entrant,” he said.

Thorne Harbour Health’s manager of health promotion Adam Hynes said he was looking forward to seeing who the public voted for.

“I will be interested to see who the Australian public chooses as the competition winner, as shortlisting the finalists was a particularly challenging task,” he said.

“These creative filmmakers have done a stellar job of portraying how smoking really does kill the vibe in important moments.”

Voters who share the promotional post on Facebook or twitter, will be in the draw to win for one of three prize packs containing 10 MQFF ticket passes.

The finalists are:
· The Third Wheel by Millie Hayes (O’Connor, ACT)
· Fuming by Sam McGowan (Forest Hill, VIC)
· Worm Lurve by Sebastian Berto (Northcote, VIC)
· Vibe-raters by Brigitte Haviland and Amber Kinnear (Camden, NSW) Voting is open until Tuesday February
5 at 10am on the MQFF website mqff.com.au/votevibe.

The film winner will be announced at MQFF’s Program Launch on February 12, and their concept will air before every screening at MQFF 2019.