THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO Advertising & news enquiries: Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au Available early Tuesday at: http://www.echo.net.au VOLUME 22 #38 TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2008 22,700 copies every week Printed on 100% recycled paper
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Australia’s ‘Sundance’ flickers into action Jann Gilbert The third annual Byron Bay Film Festival got under way at the Community Centre on Friday night, and played host to a cast and crew of hundreds at the opening night party and screenings. Directors of the world premiere, opening-night offerings were onhand to chat to festival goers as was AFI Best Actor, Stephen Curry, who stars in You better watch out. Mark Forstmann and producer Tamara Popper from Monkey Puzzle say they are ‘very excited and thrilled that Byron has taken us in’. Their feature film is made entirely independently of government assistance yet, to their credit, they still managed a development phase. Adopting a Mike Leigh method of filmmaking, they spent eight weeks workshopping the script with actors, and then developed it over the following 12 months. ‘It’s a Byron-type film, it’s a young person’s film, it’s a bit rootsy,’ says Mark. ‘We tossed up, you know, should we premiere it in Sydney or somewhere and we thought, no, let’s go for the Cape. So here we are.’ Ironically enough, one of the film’s investors lives in Suffolk Park, and the independent nature of the festival was a real drawcard. ‘It’s independent, it’s very grass roots. We see this as like America’s
Celebrities and cinephiles rubbed shoulders at the Byron Bay Film Festival opening party. Bay FM personality Margie Farrell (aka Dj Rapunzel) and image consultant Steve Baldwin failed to avoid the paparazzi. Photo Obi McDonald-Saint
Sundance,’ says Tamara. ‘It’s the sort of place where filmmakers will want to come. The directors of the festival have a beautiful optimism and they can build on that to make this Australia’s Sundance.’ The festival runs until March 8 with session prices from $5 to $12 and lots of other special ticket offers. Phone 6685 6807 for information and bookings and see the
program online at www.bbff.com. au. The closing night event on March 8 features the Australian premiere of Laya Project. The project’s musicians are the people of coastal and surrounding communities in the 2004 tsunamiaffected regions of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar and India.
Against a rich visual tapestry regional folk music traditions were recorded, mixed and enhanced, creating a musical journey crossing borders, while preserving the music of the people. The stories of survival and loss create a personal and collective tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Filmmaker Yotam Agam will be in attendance.
Miracle tales of survival marred by tragedy Jann Gilbert The search for 39-year-old skipper Charlie Picton, missing since his trawler sank off the coast of Byron Bay, was called off by police last Thursday night. In making the decision police said they believed it was unlikely that Mr Picton was still alive. Two other men aboard the boat when it sank, Michael Williams, 39, who swam for over ten hours to reach the shore to raise the alarm and John Jarret, 41, who was rescued after surviving 30 hours in the water,
have been recovering in hospital. Neither have plans to return to sea. Superintendent Mark Hutchings from Marine Area Command, NSW Police, who coordinated the search, said he believed police, emergency and volunteer services had done everything possible to find Mr Picton. ‘Once locating the second fisherman and rescuing him we concentrated our efforts around where debris was found, using five aircraft and four rescue craft in the search,’ said Supt Hutchings.
Supt Hutchings praised the ‘incredible efforts’ of all the agencies involved in the search including local volunteer rescue vessels from the North Coast (who rated a special mention), Australian Search and Rescue, the Westpac Lifesaver helicopter, and local area command and marine police resources. ‘They have my sincere thanks for all their efforts,’ said Supt Hutchings. ‘It’s great to be part of what can only be considered a fantastic team whose sole motivation was to locate these people.
health and beauty International Women’s Day celebrates 100 years of action Jann Gilbert International Women’s Day (IWD) originates from the protest action of women garment makers in New York in 1908, who demonstrated to demand better working conditions. They worked in appalling conditions, earned half of men’s wages, died prematurely from poor health and didn’t have the right to vote. To mark a centenary of action, the theme for this year’s IWD on Saturday 8 March is ‘100 years of active women in paid and unpaid work’. The theme acknowledges the enormous contribution of countless women in improving workplaces and working conditions as well as the millions of hours of volunteer or unpaid work done by women each year. As part of the celebrations the Women’s Resource Centre (WRC) and Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre (NRCLC) are offering a program of events at the Moller Pavilion, Bangalow Showgrounds. The program includes workshops, activities for children, guest speakers, lunch, and evening entertainment featuring a debate, a dinner and a women’s dance.The debate topic, ‘Nothing much has changed for women in 100 years’, promises to promote some lively discussion between panel members, who range from a union organiser to a women’s refuge worker. The WRC and the NRCLC also hope to raise awareness of the need for adequate emergency accommodation and affordable housing so that women leaving abusive relationships are not forced to return simply because they have nowhere else to go. For all enquiries about IWD activities contact Kassa Bird at the WRC on 6684 4299 or Angel Pollard from the NRCLC on 6621 1000.
‘And the courage of the gentleman that swam ashore, the miraculous bravery of that man, the stamina, the determination, is beyond belief. Without him, we may not have located the second gentleman or even the area. Being unable to locate Mr Picton is an absolute tragedy. Our hearts go out to his family and we offer our condolences.’ Mr Picton’s family thanked emergency service crews for their efforts and praised the bravery of his deckhands. Q Comment, page 10