Forget the French Riviera – the most thought-provoking new film festival is coming to Yarraville.
The Sun Theatre has partnered with Foodbank Victoria to launch the inaugural Cans Film Festival, to be held October 26-28.
The festival will feature documentaries about life, waste, the future of food and human compassion including The Gateway Bug, Hector and Theater of Life.
Viewers will be asked to bring a can of food as part of their payment for the film and all proceeds will be donated to Foodbank Victoria.
Foodbank Victoria chief executive Dave McNamara thanked Sun Theatre owner Michael Smith for taking on the festival, which he hopes will be “quirky” enough to capture the community’s imagination.
“We wanted to raise awareness around food insecurity and Michael thought it was a great idea,” he said.
“These films are thought-provoking and I hope it helps raise awareness that one in six Australians are now having to really rely upon emergency food on their table.”
Foodbank Victoria distributes the equivalent of 50,000 meals a day from its Yarraville headquarters, supporting 472 charity partners across Victoria.
Mr McNamara said despite the organisation increasing its capacity by about 10 per cent every year, it is still unable to keep up with demand and people are being turned away.
Film-goers and the public alike are being encouraged to drop off canned food donations that will go into emergency food relief hampers ahead of the busy Christmas period.
Mr McNamara said volunteers are also needed at Foodbank Victoria.
Bookings: www.suntheatre.com.au.
Benjamin Millar
