Film festival returns

THIS month sees the Buninyong Film Festival return for the 31st time to showcase an array of arthouse films.

This year’s festival will include a range of Australian and international film such as Queens of Concrete about three young skateboarders pursuing Olympic success, A Different Man which follows aspiring actor Edward who undergoes a radical medical procedure to transform his appearance, Kusama: Infinity about Yayoi Kusama, and more.

“We do seven films over the weekend, and they’re films that quite often you can’t see at the local cinema,” committee member Joan Goldsmith said.

“It’s interesting for people to see something that’s a bit different.”

The festival also includes a Friday night supper and cocktails, Saturday lunch at local venues, an historic walk, and the festival dinner at The Shared Table.

“There’s lots of little extras like that that people enjoy,” Ms Goldsmith said.

Ms Goldsmith said the committee is looking to increase visitors to the festival following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been a really successful festival from the beginning,” she said.

“Last year our numbers were down a little bit and that was as a result of COVID where we had a two-year break and it’s taken time to build up the numbers again.

“We’re really excited about our program this year because we’ve got seven really good films so hopefully we’ll get some lovely audiences.”

The festival will be on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 May. To purchase a ticket, visit the Buninyong Film Festival website.