Budding young filmmakers in the hills will once again have the opportunity to see their name up in lights, with the return of the Lantern and Light International Children’s Film Festival (LLICFF) in 2020.
The three-day festival showcases some of the best Australian and international short films created by young people, with prestigious awards given to the best film in various categories.
The LLICFF was a recent recipient of a grant as part of Yarra Ranges Council’s 2020 Grants for Community program.
Coinciding with the Belgrave Lantern Parade, the LLICFF will also include in-school filmmaking mentoring by Ranges Academy of Performing Arts (RAPA) Festival Director, Rainsford Towner.
Towner said that the grant was crucial in helping kick-start the festival again for 2020.
“This grant funding is the essential seed funding for the festival, which then helps draw interest from other sponsors, energy from other sources and the conviction needed to spend the copious volunteer hours making it work,” said Towner.
“Whether a young person has filmmaking ambitions or not, filmmaking develops lifelong skills including teamwork, collaboration, preparation, planning and entrepreneurial skills.”
“The LLICFF gives children the opportunity to see their film projected onto the big screen. How exciting is that
Lyster Ward Councillor, Mike Clarke, was excited to see the festival running again.
“We’re so lucky in the hills region to have such fantastic not-for-profits and volunteers such as the RAPA, to put on programs like this that really do have a huge positive impact on the community, especially for students aged 6-18,” Cr Clarke said.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be able to support these types of events through our community grants program.
“I’d like to congratulate all grants recipients from this round of funding and look forward to the outcomes of all projects.”
In total, 75 applicants from around the Yarra Ranges will share in $420,930 from Yarra Ranges Council’s 2020 Grants for Community program, which helps fund community development, festivals, events, heritage and the arts projects.
