Mission Beach, a community to our north and one with much in common with Magnetic Island, where coastal development and superb natural values are often at odds with eachother, is mounting what organizers believe is the first Film Festival dedicated to the theme of sustainability. Following is information about this unique event from the Mission beach community organisers

With professional screening facilities located hours away, festival organizers have had to create a bespoke event, including an outdoor screening venue that can smoothly adapt to a wet weather contingency, sourcing state of the art screening and projection equipment including a 6 metre wide inflatable screen and a program of films that will engage and entertain audiences across all age groups.

The culmination of 12 months of planning and coordination sees the inaugural
Festival commencing on Friday 6th November with 4 screenings across 3
beachfront venues.

An ‘Under the Stars’ screening and fiesta at Castaways Resort and Spa features The Age of Stupid which premiered across the globe only last month and was reviewed by The Guardian newspaper as “the first successful dramatisation of climate change to reach the big screen”.

The Festival’s off-shore venue, Dunk Island, presents the sublime family feature film The Fox and The Child the story of a magical, life-changing encounter between a wild fox a young girl and their impossible friendship followed by Big River Man a rollicking thrill ride that works as both a humorous character study and an enlightening environmental message.

Back on the mainland, the C4 – Communities for Cassowary and Coastal Conservation – Theatrette screens the multi-award winning documentary The Cove which scooped Audience Awards for Best Documentary at this year’s Sundance, Sydney and Hot Docs (Canada) Film Festivals.

Saturday programming is largely family friendly with screenings at Castaways
Resort and Spa kicking off with Wall-E, Hoot and an early evening family screening of The Fox and The Child followed by the engagingly eccentric Big River Man.

Feature Documentaries fill the program at the C4 throughout Saturday with the cinematically stunning Travelling Birds followed by Garbage Warrior the story of a renegade architect and his vision of self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities and culminates with the inspirational documentary The Burning Season which follows young Australian entrepreneur Dorjee Sun, who believes there's money to be made from protecting rainforests in Indonesia, saving the orangutan from extinction and making a real impact on climate change.

Dunk Island offers another opportunity to see The Age of Stupid on Saturday
night and The Cove on Sunday 8th November.

The Mission Beach Film Festival is an inaugural community event with a view to establish an annual iconic cultural and environmental fixture in the local Cassowary Coast region. It is an opportunity to highlight Mission Beach and environs as a destination of unique ecological importance.

Mission Beach Film Festival program details, film synopsis and ratings and information regarding the Cassowary Coast Short Film Competition and Stills
Photography Exhibition is available at www.missionbeachfilmfestival.com.au

Tickets are available from the Mission Beach Visitor Information Centre on
Porter Promenade, Mission Beach or call 07 4068 7099.

For further information please contact:
Dee Cameron, Festival Producer 07 4088 6811 0400 880 805
Sue Clothier, Festival Steering Committee 0419 990 228
Pete Faulkner, Festival Steering Committee 0439 490 088
Melissa Thurgood, Festival Steering Committee 0414 458 846
Sarah Mort, Festival Steering Committee 0414 256 500