Premiere season at packed-out CinefestOZ

CinéfestOZ will host three world premieres as part of its record 60-film movie program unveiled last week.

The 2014 program will also feature five Australian premieres and 11 WA premieres over the five day event.

CinéfestOZ deputy chairwoman Helen Shervington said The Waler: Australia’s Great War Horse, Wadjemup: Black Prison — White Playground and Tribal Scent would all make their worldwide debut at this year’s festival, which starts on August 20.

“The program highlights the diversity of talent we have in Australia and right here in our own state of Western Australia, ” Ms Shervington said.

CinéfestOZ continues its association with France with a program that includes the Australian premiere of My Summer in Provence, a family drama featuring French actor Jean Reno.

The French program will also feature the WA premiere of Frédéric Tcheng’s documentary Dior and I, which explores the world of the Christian Dior fashion house.

Gabrielle, a drama from the Academy Award-nominated producers of Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar; Alexandre Coffre’s lively romantic comedy The Volcano; and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s family drama The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet will also have their WA premieres at the festival.

Among the Australian films are the six finalists for CinéfestOZ’s $100,000 Film Prize, Felony, Son of a Gun, The Reckoning, My Mistress and Paper Planes which will all have their Australian premieres.

The Australian animated feature Maya the Bee will screen for the first time nationally as part of a special family event on Saturday, August 23.

Ms Shervington said the record number of films highlighted the festival’s growth over the past seven years.

“CinéfestOZ continues to go from strength to strength and it gives us enormous pleasure to see not only so many films scheduled for the festival but films of such high calibre, ” she said.

The full program and tickets are available at cinefestoz.com.

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