The Cinestest Jade Festival to go live with a live audience in August – variety

Western Australia’s prestigious mini-festival Synestazed has confirmed that it will move forward with a live audience by the end of August. It will be the first in the country after the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak were relaxed.

In addition to the selection of online screenings, the festival will run August 25-30 with at least 40 live events and screenings in the Margaret River area. A full program will be unveiled on July 31st.

For the first time in the festival’s 13-year history, CinestestZ will also include a short film competition. Awards include Best Short Film, Best Native Short Film, Best West Australian Short Film, Best West Australian Female Short Filmmaker, Best Lead Actor, Best Director and Audience Choice. The festival’s feature film award is one of the richest, priced at A 69,000 (at the 100,000). Last year’s winner John Sheedy’s locally made “H is for Happiness”.

The lifting of restrictions in Western Australia means that what was previously planned as an online festival can now allow for a physical presence within health guidelines.

To date, very few film festivals have moved forward with a live audience. The Taipei Film Festival in Taiwan is now underway. France’s FID could be next in Marseille, running July 7-13. China’s first festival this week has confirmed that it will also go ahead as a real-world event on July 26-August. 3 in Qinghai Province.

Helen Shereviton, chairman of Cinemastest OZ, said: “Western Australians have been told to ‘wander’ and we have nowhere better to go than our beautiful South West. “However, we acknowledge that this is a time of challenge for all of us, especially our interstate friends and industrial families who may be bound by state border closures, so we will present a program for those who can and cannot physically attend.

Sherwington said, “Cinemaphase will look a bit different and feel in 2020 but will ultimately continue the Australian story and film through an original program that shows films, short film presentations, Synapse school program activities, community screenplays and much more.

“This has been a difficult year for all Australians, especially for the fine arts and entertainment industry,” Sherwinton said.