Helen Reddy Biopic Leads Gold Coast Film Festival Program

The 18th annual Gold Coast Film Festival will return to the Sunshine State next month and has today revealed a stacked program.

Running from 15-26 April, the main festival hub will be at HOTA with additional screenings and events to be held at 14 locations including BCC Coolangatta, Event Cinemas Coomera, Surfers Paradise Beach, QT Gold Coast and Bond University.

Opening the festival will be the Helen Reddy biopic I Am Woman in its Queensland premiere. I Am Woman tells the story of the Melbourne-born singer who "arrived in New York in 1966, virtually broke and a single mother of a toddler, before she went on to become one of the most successful recording artists of her generation". 

The screening will be one of 24 premieres at the festival with other notable films including the closing night Australian premiere of Bloody Hell.

“With two dozen premieres across 12 days, film lovers will be spoilt for choice when it comes to experiencing unique stories and fresh talent on the big screen,” Gold Coast Film Festival Director Lucy Fisher said.

“In addition to our incredible opening and closing night films, I’m thrilled that we are hosting the world premiere of Slim And I, the incredible documentary that shines a light on Joy McKean, Australia’s own ‘Queen of Country Music’, and her enduring partnership with Slim Dusty.

“It will be an honour to welcome Joy and the film’s director Kriv Stenders and producer Chris Brown on the red carpet at HOTA and participate in a Q&A after the screening.

“This year we also have a first for the festival with a special screening of the first two episodes of the second season of AACTA and Logie-Award winning drama TV series Mystery Road and look forward to hearing the behind-the-scenes stories from directors Wayne Blair and Warwick Thornton and producers Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey.”

Award-winning actor Hugo Weaving will also attend the festival for a Q&A following a screening of his latest film Hearts And Bones.

“With so many Queensland-made films in the program, the festival truly showcases the strength of our state’s growing screen industry which supports jobs for local directors, producers, writers, actors and more,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

“As one of our major film events, supported by Screen Queensland and Tourism & Events Queensland, the festival presents an opportunity for local audiences to celebrate the hard work and creativity of these Queenslanders, who make movie magic right here in our own backyard.

“This festival is a highlight of the local events calendar and attracts thousands of people each year, shining a spotlight on Queensland's thriving $1 billion screen industry, which employs more than 7,100 people across the State.”

For more details about the festival and a look at the full program, follow the link here.