Birth of a Film Festival is a short documentary about the birth of the Melbourne International Film Festival in the leafy hills of Olinda in 1952. Documenting this significant event for film culture in Australia, Birth of a Film Festival testifies to the enthusiasm and passion for cinema that began Australia's vibrant film culture.
It is a guerilla documentary starring a cast of celebrities including Rachel Griffiths the internationally acclaimed actor, Lynda House producer of the film Muriel's Wedding, filmmaker Tim Burstall and actors Kerry Armstrong and Vince Colosimo.
The film takes us back to Melbourne in 1952, when audiences were starved of European and Asian films. They found that the only way to get to see them was to hold a film festival.
A live radio broadcast produced during the weekend is welded to black and white stills to convey the atmosphere and the mood of the festival. Interview grabs from some of the people who attended the festival in Olinda complete the story.
