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The St Kilda Film Festival took its repertoire on the road and set up shop across the country last month, stopping at Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and its home town of Melbourne. It made its way to Hobart’s State Cinema on July 13th and 14th, where it was met by packed audiences, ready and eager to embrace the eclectic range of Australian films.

The festival has illustrious roots, creating history twenty-four years ago when it was founded as the first of its kind to have been organised by a local government in Australia. The event offers $10,000 in prize money for best film – a hefty incentive for any aspiring filmmaker. The top one hundred films are chosen out of over seven-hundred entries, and the best films are shown during the run of the festival.

There was a variety of film genres explored by the festival, giving a kaleidoscopic view into the range of stories and film formats produced by Australian filmmakers. From short films Sweet & Sour, a colourful 2-D cartoon about a dog struggling with loneliness and the fear of being eaten, to a rotoscope-animated documentary about prostitution in the heart of St Kilda.

Some of the films seemed to be at a lower standard in both quality and production values, but the atmosphere of the audience and the cosy setting of the venue buoyed up these black sheep in the group. One of the highlights of the festival was the short film Car Pool, starring Kerry Armstrong and Tom Cushing as a mother and son, in a hilarious story of puberty, young love and the uniquely humiliating relationship shared between a parent and their child. This story is yet another example of why we should never let our parents dictate or have any involvement in our love-lives. Ever.

The Rose of Baziz was a charming, original fable narrated by Hugo Weaving, about a king with allergies to plants and a rose that grows in his barren kingdom. The story was given a classic feel using black and white still photographs instead of moving image, but the striking rhythm of the script was slightly impaired by the low standard of some of the pantomime-inspired visuals.

The romance Summer Breeze, about an English couple who meet on a river bank for a perfect day of bonding and bliss was another standout, with believable performances from its two leads. The film was self-financed by Perth-based Producer David Le May and Austrian Filmmaker Kim Strobl, and had an ad-libbed, fresh feeling that enlivened the decidedly stale theme of young love.

The festival also hosted a segment called “Sound Kilda”, showcasing a number of Australia’s most vibrant musical videos. Those featured were nominated for the SoundKILDA music video competition. The winning music videos In Front of Me by TZU, Explain by Sarah Blasko and the Audience Choice Heart’s a Mess by Gotye, all used animation to effectively enhance the catchy tunes.

The St Kilda Film festival is an entertaining cultural event, and those who missed out can join in next year to appreciate another round of Australian talent. Films shown at the festival are also eligible for nomination in the Inside Film awards - the people’s choice awards for Australian Films. Scoring for this year’s IF awards closes midnight the 14th of September, and can be rated by registering at www.ifawards.com before the deadline.

NICOLE CALABRIA