The Screenwave International Film Festival begins next week amongst the beaches and mountains of the pristine Coffs Coast, and having already broken its previous ticket presales record, Festival Directors are now predicting a new attendance record for SWIFF’23 (April 20 – May 5). Husband and wife Festival Directors Dave Horsley and Kate Howat founded Coffs Harbour’s Screenwave International Film Festival from grassroots in 2014, which locals quickly started calling SWIFF – and have transformed the regional festival into a 16-day cinema celebration with a focus on quality curation, with Australian screen icon Jack Thompson now SWIFF’s Festival Patron, and the joy of movie watching kept at the forefront of the festival experience. Hosting over 140 feature film screenings and special events this year, SWIFF regularly pulls over 10,000 festival goers into cinemas for the festival, with visitors travelling in from around Australia to the pristine Coffs Coast – an eco-accredited destination of beaches, rainforests, and mountains.
SWIFF’23’s Opening Night Gala launches next Thursday (April 20), hosting the NSW Premiere of Rolf de Heer’s FIPRESCI Award-winning film about race and privilege The Survival of Kindness. The festival will close on Friday May 5th with the Regional Australian Premiere of Ari Aster’s new Joaquin Phoenix driven dark comedy, Beau Is Afraid. Festival Guests include Rolf de Heer, lead actress Mwajemi Hussein, and producers Molly Reynolds and Julie Byrne (The Survival of Kindness, Apr 20/21), Australian conservation icon Bob Brown (The Giants, Apr 29/30), Afghani refugee activist Muzafar Ali & prolific Australian director Jolyon Hoff (Watandar, My Countryman, NSW Premiere, Apr 29/30), debut feature director Luke Cornish & breakdancer Patrix (Keep Stepping, Apr 29/30), along with Gumbaynggirr activist Birrugan Dunn-Velasco & Australian Tent Embassy founder Gumbaynggirr Elder Uncle Gary Williams (50th Anniversary screening of Ningla-a-na, Apr 30) in a First Nations-led talk about what’s changed in 50 years since the Australia’s civil rights movement was founded.
Actor Damon Herriman (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Breaking Bad) will deliver the keynote address at SWIFF’s 2023 Nextwave Youth Film Awards, screening the World Premiere of 28 short films made by young Australians under 25, before sitting down for a fireside chat with Festival Director Dave Horsley about Herriman’s work in Hollywood for SWIFF’s Industry Connect networking event.
SWIFF’s eighth festival program will present 80+ different feature films from over 30 countries across the world – including the Australian Premiere of Brandon Cronenberg’s new satire of the rich and famous in Infinity Pool (Alexander Skarsgard, Australia’s Cleoptara Coleman), programmed alongside Cannes award-winning favourites EO, Joyland, and The Eight Mountains, to biting satires and hilarious comedies Give Me Pity!, Ruben Ostlund’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, and Owen Kline’s cringe comedy Funny Pages, plus Berlinale Jury Prize winning documentary Nelly & Nadine, and frozen Russian coastline surf epic Corners of the Earth: Kamchatka.
Rising Australian director Goran Stolevski’s two new features Of An Age and You Won’t Be Alone have both been selected for the festival, with Stolevski joining 10 Australian debut or sophomore feature film directors in competition for SWIFF’s Ferguson Film Prize, with Jury Members Fiona Williams (Head of SBS Movies), Australian actress Bonnie Ferguson (Alex Proyas’ Mask of the Evil Apparition), and acclaimed screenwriter Jeff Arch (Sleepless In Seattle) selecting the winner.
Aside from a strong contingent of new international cinema, this year’s festival includes retrospective highlights of prolific directors David Cronenberg (These Violent Delights program) and Rolf de Heer (The Rolf de Heer Revolution program), celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bad Boy Bubby, plus a host of anniversary event screenings for William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (50th anniversary) and the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski (25th anniversary) – both with free trivia sessions beforehand.
SWIFF’23 hosts a live soundtrack performance to accompany the 100th anniversary of Harold Lloyd’s iconic slapstick comedy Safety Last!, and a 40th anniversary screening just announced for Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, starring David Bowie and Jack Thompson, in dedication to the late iconic film composer and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, with Jack Thompson in attendance. Film screenings and events will be hosted at the CHEC Theatre, Jetty Memorial Theatre, and the newly upgraded Bellingen Memorial Hall from April 20 to May 5.With Russell Crowe’s new Coffs Harbour film studio on the horizon, the region is gathering a new reputation as a regional hotspot for film and screen.SWIFF is proudly supported by presenting partner Squealing Pig Wines.