Films on the Fringe kicks off new immersive film experience

The new Fringe festival Films on the Fringe will see unique film screenings take over various venues in Bunbury across July and August. The festival will see three different themed venues transformed into immersive film screenings, featuring live performances and drinks. This is the first time Bunbury Fringe has tried throwing winter events, with the hope the festival can provide a diverse film experience during Fringe’s off-season. The first screening — taking place at The Pavilion on July 22 — will screen classic comedy film The Birdcage in a Miami Beach-themed 18+ event. Drag queen and DJ Dean Misdale will be spinning tunes throughout the evening on the dancefloor, promising a “one-of-a-kind party experience.” August 5 will see a screening of the gangster film Snatch with special guest and Bunbury Fringe regulars The Whiskey Dogs, taking place at the old Sports-marine building, a location designed to “evoke the films distinctive gangster atmosphere.” The final screening will take place at the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery on August 26, showing a screening of Australian film Heart and Bones alongside a performance of a string quartet in association with the Philharmonic South West Orchestra. Event organiser Sarah-Jane Bilston said that the idea for the festival came from the desire to bring a non-conventional winter film experience to Bunbury. “I wanted to choose films that each had a different kind of flavour to them and that could be screened in different spaces because part of what we try to do is activate within the city of Bunbury and use them in non-conventional ways, to create fun, interesting, diverse kinds of experiences for our audiences,” she said. Ms Bilston said the films were chosen in particular to match the venues in town. “The Birdcage with The Pavilion, thinking about the venues that we have around Bunbury and what films could go into those spaces was a really big part of choosing which films we would actually screen this time around,” she said. The screenings are expected to be a hit, with more than half the tickets for The Birdcage event sold already. Organisers are highly encouraging patrons to attend the screenings in fancy dress, with dress codes featured online. Tickets are on sale now via the Bunbury Fringe website.