19 Jul 2010
With an audience increase of close to 40% from 2009, and no shortage of sold out sessions, the thirteenth Revelation Perth International Film Festival closed on a high note last night, Sunday 18th July, after proving itself to be a crucially important part of Western Australia's screen cultural landscape.
Revelation's 2010 program of independent films and special events was it's boldest yet, and featured a balanced selection of both challenging and simply entertaining films. The great variety amongst the audience favourites reflects the widening appeal of the event and indicates that Perth's premier film festival is right on the money with its range of feature films, documentaries, short films and animation from more than seventeen countries.
With 30 national premieres on offer amongst the highly rated program, and ready accessibility to its world class list of film industry guests from Australia and around the world, the jump in audience numbers can also be partly attributed to Revelation tapping into a fresh new audience alongside its regular supporters by engaging with users of social media for an on-going dialogue about the festival in real time.
"We're over the moon with the response from both the industry and the Perth community this year," says festival Chairperson Richard Sowada, "I can actively see the WA film scene maturing, and being able to connect it to the international community in such a direct and immediate way is incredibly rewarding. The audience reaction this year demonstrates they're finding the same pay-off!"
Program Director Jack Sargeant was equally pleased with the 2010 festival. "This has been a very exciting year for Rev. Both guests and audiences have come together to make a truly unique cinematic event, one we are all extremely proud of."
Some of Revelation 2010's most popular films included American, a documentary about the late renowned comedian Bill Hicks; Perth-made psychological thriller The Sculptor; winner of Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2009, Dogtooth; plus documentaries about cat ladies, real-life bogeymen, and the absorption of western culture behind the iron curtain during the Cold War.
Revelation would like to thank everyone who bought tickets to see any of the outstanding films on offer in the 2010 program, our wonderful group of festival partners, as well as those who covered Rev in the press or talked about us to your mates! We're looking forward to outdoing ourselves again in 2011!