In 2023 a new cultural event for the region took place at the Avoca Picture Theatre.
Complete with red carpet photos, musical support and three new films, the inaugural Coastal Surge Film Festival was a sellout and its success prompted Central Coast Council to get involved.
This November, Coastal Surge will return – this time as part of The Lakes Festival.
Festival directors Glenn Fraser and Amelia Foxton are each award-winning filmmakers in their own right, with their most recent work – the Central Coast-lensed opus Mother Tongue – being awarded a Best Director gong at A Night of Horror International Film Festival in Sydney last year.
“The sheer volume of visual creatives who came out of the woodwork to bring their magic to our film was mind-blowing, and the fact that we could have a sell-out event at a moment’s notice proved that there is a genuine hunger for this kind of thing,” Fraser said.
But a film festival needs films.
“We want to get the word out there – we want to see the work that locals on the Coast and in the Hunter are producing,” Fraser said.
“And we are opening an international section for filmmakers who get to visit our stunning region and see some films while they’re out here.”
Apart from showing off the best of the region, the Coastal Surge duo also recognises a huge body of musical talent on the Coast and want to see it represented on local screens.
The first night of the festival on November 7 will be dedicated to short narrative and documentary films to be screened at Avoca Beach Theatre.
The next night, November 8, will see the festival move to The Everglades at Woy Woy for a series of film clips to be interspersed with a battle of the bands-type scenario, where musicians will be judged by industry professionals.
“We’re thrilled to have such support,” Fraser said.
“There will be red carpets, trophies, prize money and most important, wonderful venues to get great work seen in public spaces.”
Foxton said reaching the right people was the greatest challenge.
“The filmmaking community is quite tight on the Coast, but we are finding the music community is more disparate, so we need to holler from the highest hills to let people know what we’re doing and to get their work to us in good time for the festival,” she said.
A veteran of festivals from Tropfest to Sundance, Fraser is inspired by originality.
“It doesn’t matter if you made your film on an iPhone, we’re filmmakers ourselves so we’re celebrating bold ideas – not big budgets,” he said.
“Get in touch and let’s get your journey to the big screen started.”
Submissions are now open, with the Coastal Surge International Film Festival to run on November 7-8.
Information about how to enter films can be found on Insta @coastal_surge_film_festival or the festival entry website