Ben Apfelbaum

THE LAUNCH OF FLICKERFEST 2019

Flickerfest 2019 had its launch earlier this week at the exclusive upstairs Bar at Bondi Icebergs.

Invitees had enjoyed canapes and some very fine Black Night cocktails.

Including the appetisers served, our cinematic tastes were teased with the screening of a humorous and delightful 1960’s Batman and Robin short film set on Bondi Beach which is being used to promote the Festival.

As a follow up there was a screening  of a new Gracie Otto short film, a clever and mischievous black comedy, which was screened to very warm applause.

In order to  screen the 130 films over the season the judges had to sit through some 2700 entries.  This process ensures the highest quality of short films available and as such Flickerfest is the only Festival of its type with Academy Award accreditation and BAFTA recognition.

Now in its 28th year Flickerfest has been lauded by such luminaries as Baz Luhrmann, Cate Blanchett and Claudia Karvan.

Festival Director Bronwyn Kidd in her introductory speech that this could well be the best Flickerfest yet with even greater things to come.

Flickerfest entrants will be competing for a number of coveted prizes including the Flickerfest award for Best International Short Film, the Yoram Gross award for Best International Animation, the Virgin Australia Award for Best Australian short film and the Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary. There are other prizes which acknowledge the various craft areas needed to make a great short film.

After Flickerfest’s season at the Bondi Pavilion the Festival will visit over 50 venues across Australia between January and May 2019.

The Sydney season runs from the 11th to the 20th January and further details can be obtained at www.flickerfest.com.au

Featured image Barry Otto and his daughter Gracie. All images by Ben Apfelbaum.

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.