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BIFF PRIMER
July/August is a special time of year for me. I start looking forward to it
in oh, about February, start emailing my friends, putting my name on website mailing lists. Yeah I'm early I know, but I want to be sure I'm one of the
first people to know. I start saving my money for the annual Take 10 pass and blocking out my diary. Nothing is going to stop me from going, and
woe-betide anyone or anything who tries to demand my time with something more important (impossible!) than the Asian-Pacific program in the Brisbane
International Film Festival.
This year, the year of the 11th BIFF, will make my sixth year running, and I
can say quite happily that each year has been a feast of fabulous films from
the Asia Pacific region, ranging from memorable to magnificent and every course in between. Sure, BIFF screens consistently fine films from all
around the world every year, many of which have already won festival awards at the likes of Cannes, Sundance and Berlin, some of which will probably
never be seen in Australia again. And yes, it makes for the occasional conflict of desire but the Asian-Pacific category ends up seducing me every
time.
BIFF has made a name for itself in the decade since the category's inception, and rightly so. Their commitment is serious, genuine and long
term and this year also marks the second year the festival hosts the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Awards. BIFF is in fact the
only Australian film festival to host these awards, a clear recognition of its dedication to screening the best of cinema from the Asia-Pacific region
and the range of diverse films screened this year is no exception to that claim.
So, here I am to give you a bit of a Brissy primer in the lead up to the festival, just to whet your appetite. Pull up a chair, let your belts out a
notch and prepare for a meal you will never forget.
Deni Stoner reporting
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