Bellingen Film Lovers Festival

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Bellingen Film Lovers, a collection of magical movies for fans of the silver screen at Bellingen Memorial Hall.

Cinema belongs in this place. Acquired by the community with a view to building a war memorial, the site that was eventually to see the building of the Memorial Hall in 1929, initially hosted a picture house in a temporary structure with no roof! So popular and profitable was this venture that after a few years, sufficient funds had been raised to construct the much-loved venue now situated on Hyde Street.

There are myriad reasons and ways we enjoy cinema. And that’s why Bellingen Film Lovers encompasses a broad selection of genres and styles – we have blockbusters, family fun, documentaries, nature themes, a dose of horror, an animation and a director focus in French film maker Luc Besson. It’s a lot to squeeze into just 12 choices and indeed, there is scope for so much more in future editions. Let’s make this first one a success to ensure film remains at Bellingen Memorial Hall for the long term.

Furthermore, we have two special events: the unveiling of Cherry Hood’s portrait of David Helfgott, accompanied by a screening of The Music Mind: A Portrait in Process; also a screening of Beats, a film set in Scotland in 1994 during the highly politicized clamp down on public freedoms, followed by a 90s Rave at Studio BMH.

The atmosphere generated by watching films in a packed theatre is electric; it’s a buzz that intensifies the movie-watching experience and is not to be missed. The Memorial Hall cinema configuration has a limited capacity of 180 per screening, so grab your tickets early to avoid missing out.

See you at the cinema!