Future outdoor cinema events on the cards
Shirley Danford and Kat Moore
www.yarrareporter.org.au
Some snuggled up in rugs while kids ran around the Atherton Gardens oval as it came alive when the Fitzroy Outdoor Cinema brought people together from within and outside the estate back in March.
After much deliberation, the chosen film that was screened on the night was ‘Bend it like Beckham’.
Event organiser Marion Singer felt that it was important that the film had a non-white hero, and while it didn’t have to be G-rated, it needed to be suitable for all ages.
A handful of short films were also shown before the main screening, including ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson, and interviews with young refugees filmed at the Cubbies playground.
YarraReporter grabbed a camera and hit the streets of Fitzroy to guage people’s opinions of which film should be shown on the night.
While Singer was the sole organiser of the event, she received a lot of support and encouragement, and many residents from the estate volunteered to help out on the night.
Singer experienced a few issues with the Yarra City Council as the oval had recently been resurfaced as a soccer field.
However, in the end, they were helpful and very supportive, and hope to hold similar events at the Collingwood and Richmond estates in the future.
The event was intended to break down the barrier between residents of the Housing Estate and the rest of Fitzroy.
While Singer accepts that community tolerance cannot be achieved overnight, an event such as this encourages people from lots of different backgrounds to put aside their differences, come together and enjoy a recreational activity together.
“I don’t think you can set a project up to achieve community harmony, but in the funding applications that we’re doing for next year, we’re doing a lot of different film making projects with different groups that will be a good way of engaging differently with the community,” she said.
Singer hopes to hold three cinema nights next summer, making it a regular monthly event over the holidays.
“I think it’s really nice just to be able to have fun together. There needs to be more of that in life. Always,” she said.
For more information, visit
www.fitzroyoutdoorcinema.org
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