Peninsula Film Festival
Ms BURNETT-WAKE (Eastern Victoria) (12:57): Today I want to highlight and celebrate the resumption of the Peninsula Film Festival this year. This not-for-profit event supports the arts and in particular emerging filmmakers on the Mornington Peninsula. It is run entirely by volunteers and relies on sponsorship. The event has been unable to proceed in person for the last two years due to COVID-19, but through the hard work of volunteers and sponsors the event is set to return on 11 March. This event is close to my heart because a short film I produced took out first prize at this festival in 2019. It is an amazing community event, and it is so important that events like this can go ahead after we all turned to streaming services and digital media to get us through lockdowns. Holding these events encourages our emerging artists to continue making films and demonstrates that we value our homegrown talent.
Steve Bastoni gives so much of his time to assist these emerging filmmakers through creating these events. Steve is a well-known Melbourne-based actor known for his stints on Underbelly, Police Rescue and Neighbours. This year the event is going to be at the Dromana drive-in and held in a COVID-safe way. Thank you to Steve Bastoni and the Peninsula Film Festival committee for organising this annual event and for your resilience over the last two years to bring the festival back this year.