Heading into our fifth year in 2010, the Hillside Film Festival stands as a unique voice amidst the ever-growing crowd of film festivals across the country. A vibrant celebration of film culture, the focus of the festival is on artistic excellence and innovation rather than just participation, resulting in an annual showcase of the best original short films from emerging young filmmakers.
In addition, the Hillside Film Festival is screened in one of the most stunning cinemas in the country – the Cameo Cinemas in Belgrave. The Cameo’s outdoor cinema is located within beautiful gardens framed by magnificent native trees and greenery, with the beautiful hills of the Dandenong Ranges as a backdrop.
For 2010, the festival has undergone a name change (formerly the ‘Blue Dandenongs Young Filmmakers Festival'), aiming to better reflect and interact with the broader demographic of the region. The festival was originally conceived to remedy two things which the then-organisers saw as lacking in the local landscape:
- A major cultural event for the Dandenong Ranges.
- A forum that offered young filmmakers an opportunity to compete and network with their peers.
Over the past four years, the Hillside Film Festival has made great strides in both these areas, creating a festival for emerging filmmakers that rewards excellence and allows them to compete on an even playing field, while building towards creating a flagship cultural event in the ‘hills’.
The festival was initiated and continues to be managed by Burrinja, the Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre. Since the festival’s inception, the Cameo Cinemas have been the major festival partner, and the Shire of Yarra Ranges has annually provided vital funding.
