Breath of Fresh Air film festival. Friday 1st - Sunday 17th May 2020.
Scheduled for the start of May, Tasmania’s premier independent film festival BOFA (Breath of Fresh Air) – was delivered a body blow in its 10th year by the arrival of the coronavirus onto the island’s shores. BOFA director Owen Tilbury was reluctant to simply cancel, even though opening cinemas to screen the impressive 30-odd films from 17 countries was now impossible.
“We were gutted that this iconic year in the life of BOFA should be cancelled,” said Tilbury. “But with so many events and special occasions being cancelled or postponed, we had to get creative and find other ways to (screen) our 10th Anniversary Film Festival.”
As a result, the BOFA team has, according to Tilbury, “gone high-tech and online all around Australia” and has taken the best of its original selection of arresting, intriguing and thought-provoking films and uploaded them for everybody to stream as and when they feel like it. Best of all, it is free across all Australian states!
“People can say things are impossible, but we worked harder, we followed our obsessions.” - BOFA director Owen Tilbury
The program includes some really interesting screenings as part of BOFA’s Climate Action and World Stories sections; just right to keep the socially distanced and sustainable amongst us thinking about what happens next to our planet.
“Life often isn’t easy here in Tasmania; it never has been,” explains Tilbury. “People can say things are impossible and some might have believed it. But we worked harder, we followed our obsessions, supported one another, and helped make this place/event different.” Which is why BOFA, despite the problems, is going ahead as planned, he adds.
BOFA Online will become Australia’s first major streamed film festival, direct from Tasmania and available to anybody that signs up for all 19 films, from 14 countries, over 17 days. Brilliant news.
BOFA features some great climate and sustainability films. Courtesy BOFA.
To sign up for a free BOFA access code (Australia only, sorry!) just register at https://breath-of-fresh-air.com.au/log-on-details/ There’s also a 10th anniversary virtual party to celebrate the against-the-odds screenings, held on Zoom from 6pm AEST on Friday 1 May (to attend Zoom using this link on Friday). More details at https://breath-of-fresh-air.com.au/conversations/.