Film Festivals join forces for art house

The Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane Film Festivals have announced a new partnership in a bid to combine efforts to help support the release of Australian art house and niche films both online and internationally.

The festivals will work with distributors to undertake targeted marketing throughout Australia.

Cinephiles that are engaged with each festival will be utilised due to the festivals’ large combined e-newsletter subscribers of over 95,000. The partnership will make use of this database to prop up new release Australian films.

Andy X, a film developed and directed by Jim Sharman, is the first project to receive the combined festival support. The film, which features a script by Stephen Sewell and original music by Basil Hogios, is scheduled for online release on the 22nd of this month.

A bold 40-minute adventure in modern screen culture, Andy X combines song, verse and montage in exploration of the iconic pop-artist Andy Warhol.

Up next for the festivals is Bryan Mason and Sophie Hyde’s Life in Movement, which will have its first major theatrical release in April of this year.

"It's very far-sighted of the major Film Festivals in Australia to join forces in bringing unique screen events such as Andy X to their audience's attention. These festivals have always led the way in screen culture, and it seems only right that Festival-goers will be among the first in the world to have the chance to savour this special online preview of Andy X,” said the film’s director Jim Sharman

Andy X will premiere online on the 25th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s death.

Through the joint festival initiative, there will be an online preview opportunity for all Australian film festival subscribers on 18th February, which will be followed by an interactive Q&A with Jim Sharman.

To watch and take part visit: www.andyxthemovie.com.