Putting a film festival on the map

FOUR years ago, young filmmaker Allanah Zitserman decided to establish a new film festival to help foster the local industry.  The result was the Dungog Film Festival which  has quickly grown into one of the key events on the movie calendar and is now considered the biggest showcase of Australian films in the country.

Centred around an old cinema in Dungog, a country town three hours drive north of Sydney, this year’s festival will feature dozens of films ¬≠— including several premieres — and feature a who’s who of the Australian film industry.

The festival will run from May 27-30 and includes a full program of workshops, discussions and events. Among the innovations is speed auditioning, where budding actors have to impress in lightning speed.

“It’s essentially about being very proactive and assisting filmmakers build their careers, discovering new talent, and ultimately getting Aussie movies to Aussie audiences,” says Zitserman, the festival’s director.

The 33-year old hit the headlines as co-writer of the film Russian Doll, a 2001 romantic comedy set among Bondi’s Russian-Jewish community, which won an Australian Film Institute award for best original screenplay.

Yet there is more to the Dungog Film Festival than initially meets the eye.

“Dungog is not just about the four days, it is beyond that. My vision is to make a significant contribution to the industry throughout the year. And that’s already happening.”

Zitserman, who also owns a film distribution and a film production company, pointed to recent collaborations with iTunes and Oovie aiming to encourage young talent as examples of the growing reach and impact of the festival.

Despite its slogan being “Done Sundance, Done Cannes, Dungog”, the festival is on a different level to the world’s best-known international film festivals, primarily as it is limited to Australian movies.

Yet there is one arena in which Dungog matches the film festival heavyweights: the social aspect.

“Some of the social events at Dungog are renowned for being some of the best parties in the Southern Hemisphere. Filmmakers tell me they rival the parties at Cannes,” Zitserman remarks.

Which should come as no surprise, given Zitserman’s background in events management.

The Sydneysider staged club nights in her free time at university before going on to plan events at both Cannes and the Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco.

“It was really great fun. It showed me that if I had a vision, I could create something. It gave me a lot of confidence that I could go out there and try something and take risks and pull people together, and something can come out of that.”

Fusing her love of event planning and  filmmaking, Zitserman called her new role as film festival director a natural progression, and relished the opportunity to build something from the ground up.

“Starting anything from scratch is always difficult and risky, but look, if you’re not taking risks, then you’re not living. I like a challenge. You have your successes and failures, but you’ve got to give it a go I believe.”

Born in Russia, Zitserman and her family came to Australia as refugees and she has never looked back.

“I have this incredible appreciation for being here. I don’t take it for granted for one minute. I love this country. I feel very much Australian,” she says.

And being a migrant herself, Zitserman always encourages Australian films set among minority communities, including the Jewish community.

“Russian Doll and Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger … are the only two Australian feature films I can remember in recent times that have centred on the Australian Jewish community, so I think there is plenty of room for more,” she said. “We’d love to see some more films set among the Jewish community.”

The Dungog Film Festival is held from May 27-30. Enquiries: www.dungogfilmfestival.org.

BENJAMIN HOLZMAN

PHOTO: Dungog Film Festival director Allanah Zitserman.