International Festival Premiere for My Uncle Bluey

19 October 2009

Organisation

My Uncle Bluey, a West Australian short documentary funded through the FTI/ ScreenWest Link initiative, has been invited to premiere in competition at one of the world’s most prestigious Documentary Film Festivals – The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam was founded in 1988 in order to stimulate the national and international documentary culture. Since its foundation, IDFA has developed into the largest documentary film festival in the world.

The IDFA Competition for Short Documentary consists of 16 short documentaries less than 30 minutes in length. These films will be evaluated by the same jury as the IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary, and the winner receives €5,000.

“Obviously an invitation to screen in competition at IDFA is a fantastic accolade and is sought after by every documentary filmmaker” Writer/ Director Britt Arthur stated after hearing the news, “Only 16 films from around the world are asked to compete in our section – so being listed in that calibre of competition is certainly a big compliment for the film and will definitely lead to further screenings and success internationally.”

My Uncle Bluey is a short documentary concerning Britt Arthur’s personal story about her estranged Uncle Robert – a white man who found his home in a remote West Australian Aboriginal community.

The film is no stranger to success, after premiering in June at the 56th Sydney Film Festival the film has gone on to win the award for Best Direction in a Short Film at the 2009 Australian Director’s Guild Award and it is also nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 2009 Australian Teacher’s of Media (ATOM) Awards (to be announced Friday 23 October).

The film was funded by WA’s Film & Television Institute, ScreenWest and LotteryWest and was shot in various locations around Western Australia, including Onslow, Baandee, Merredin, Rockingham and Perth.

IDFA runs from November 19 – November 29 2009, Britt Arthur will be making the trip to Amsterdam to attend the festival with her father Eric Arthur, one of the main participants in the documentary.

Renowned Australian directors Dennis O’Rourke, Tom Zubrycki and Bob Connolly as well as Werner Herzog, Kazuo Hara, Robert Kramer, Michael Moore and Ulrich Seidl have all received special attention at IDFA in the past.

For more information please visit:
My Uncle Bluey
IDFA
ATOM Awards
Australian Director’s Guild Awards