Short film showcase Freshflix is taking to the water this summer, teaming up with Mov’in Boat Sydney to present their 2021 season afloat on Darling Harbour. A fabulous night of popcorn and choc topping fires up a dozen compelling shorts by Australian and international filmmakers, all while you bob along in the big blue.
With the event setting sail at 6pm, you’ll be led to your very own rowboat or day bed pontoon on arrival, or you can even BYO boat. Hot Aussie band Baby Beef will warm up the on-water crowd with a live set from 7pm, before festival founders Claudia Pickering and Jess Hamilton take to the stage to announce two hours of short film excellence unspooling from 8pm.
The films include director Jessica Li’s Mother Tongue, about a 17-year-old who rekindles her relationship with her mother when she becomes immersed in Chinese culture at her younger sister’s new language school. Tribunal by director Mason Fleming depicts the lengths a translator will go to help out an asylum seeker’s case. Bidaya (Beginning) by Mai Elgizouli is a visually arresting work that draws on Sudanese culture, and features fabulous singer-songwriter Hiba Elgizouli. You’ll also be able to see Quentin Curzon’s Little Man, about two brothers pushed to their limits when an arranged reunion with their estranged father goes awry.
Tickets are $119 for a rowboat that holds up to four, $99 for a floating bed that holds up to two, $109 for three, or $89 for BYO boat. Even better, you can order food and drinks from the bar direct to your floating picture palace too.
“We are absolutely frothing for this season of Freshflix considering we had to postpone last year,” Pickering says. “We’re so stoked that we could team up with the legends at Mov’In Boat cinema to hold a safe and socially distanced ninth season of Freshflix! You’ve never had a more epic socially distanced experience: a dozen sensational short films, live grooves from local legends Baby Beef, all from the comfort of your own BOAT on Darling Harbour?! It’s good times ahoy, m’heartys!”
