Heart Of Gold New Artistic Director

HEART OF GOLD ANNOUNCES NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

In just three short years, Heart of Gold International Film Festival has delighted and surprised all who have supported it. Simply, it has brought immeasurable benefits to the region and become synonymous with the cultural face of Gympie. Now, the festival is proud to announce the appointment of Malcolm Blaylock as its new Artistic Director.

Working successfully in the arts and cultural sectors in Australia for over 30 years, Malcolm has been the Artistic Director of a number of well known arts organisations and festivals around the country.

He was Director and Producer of the St. Kilda Film Festival for six years between 1999 and 2004 and has continued in the role of Programmer/Curator of the International Film Program to the present day. Over the same period, Malcolm has also worked as Artistic Director of the Darwin Festival, attracting audiences of over 75,000 annually with its multi-arts base, which includes an extensive film program.

Malcolm said that he was particularly drawn to Heart of Gold International Film Festival because of its vision and strong set of values.

“It’s so refreshing to come across an organisation that has such an optimistic and uplifting view of the world”, he said.

“Many who love film around the world are aware of the positive themes at the centre of all entries to Heart of Gold International Film Festival (HOGIFF). There is simply no other festival of its kind in the world and we’re so proud that it continues to he held right here. My job is to take us to the next level.”

“I’m really looking forward to working with the HOGIFF management committee, staff and our invaluable list of community volunteers to deliver a stimulating and exciting film festival of international standards in 2010. The legacy is that the HOGIFF is bigger than all of us, but only as strong as the team of community members that work so hard on it.

Malcolm has produced and directed large scale events, notably the Melbourne River Spectaculars and the opening event of the Melbourne Festival in 1998, Australian International Workshop Festival and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. He has also worked as Artistic Director for La Boite, Junction and Circle theatre companies.

His travels to national and international film festivals have seen him invited to be a member of the International Juries for Bilbao Film Festival in Spain and Interfilm Berlin (twice). He has also curated a number of Australian short film programs to be shown each year in Berlin.