Now in its third year, the UpOverDownUnder Film Festival aims to provide a forum for young Australian, New Zealand and South African fimmakers and actors to get their work shown on the big screen in London. Now in its third year, the UpOverDownUnder Film Festival aims to provide a forum for young Australian, New Zealand and South African fimmakers and actors to get their work shown on the big screen in London.The week-long event will run in conjunction with a series of Australian, New Zealand and South African short and feature films previously unseen in the UK.
Festival director, Vanessa Arden-Wood says growing presence in Hollywood of actors, directors and screenwriters from the southern hemisphere underlines the talent coming out of the three countries, and she says UODU aims to provide up-and-coming film types with the chance to get in on the action.
"The emergence of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as affordable filmmaking locations has led to many more aspiring filmmakers and actors coming through the ranks. UODU has grown in line with that," she says.
"Warner Village have come on board this year, which is a major coup for us. It's not often a major cinema chain takes a risk on an independent festival, so we must be doing something right."
But Arden-Wood says UpOverDownUnder is about more than films.
"We're recognising that thousands of young people from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa travel to Europe and the UK each year - with many of them settling. We're providing a platform for them so that they don't have to put their filmmaking on hold while they travel. There's no better place than here to get your foot in the film industry door," she says.
"And by providing Antipodeans with an outlet to express what they love about London, we're also encouraging them to be part of the wider London community rather than remain on its fringes."
Entrants are asked to submit a 3-7min film on VHS video, answering this year's theme: 'Take On London'.
"As long the film fits within that theme, we don't care what it is," says Arden-Wood. "Drama, doco, animation, comedy, biographical ... whatever - it just has to be original and worthy of the big screen."
The UpOverDownUnder Film Festival, sponsored by TNT Magazine, will run September 29-October 3 at Warner Village Cinemas, Fulham. See
www.upoverdownunder.co.uk