Aquarius Festival Documentary to Launch Byron Bay Film Festival

The 2024 Byron Bay Film Festival is set to kick off with a featurelength documentary that delves into a pivotal moment in the history of the Northern Rivers: the 1973 Aquarius Festival. Titled Aquarius, the flm is directed by local flmmaker Wendy Champagne and is subtitled Dreamers, Treehuggers, and Radical Ratbags. It chronicles the arrival of 10,000 countercultural pioneers in the tranquil township of Nimbin, bringing with them revolutionary ideas, vibrant sounds, and a psychedelic aesthetic that transformed the community.

These early festivalgoers, many of whom settled in the area, played a key role in shaping the environmental, anti-war, Aboriginal rights, and feminist movements that have since defned the region. Today, the Northern Rivers is celebrated as a haven for social and cultural freethinkers, a reputation that can be traced back to the Aquarius Festival’s impact.

Festival director Graeme Dunstan, who remains a resident of the area, refects on the event’s profound infuence: “The festival attracted visionaries and pioneers who saw a new way of living, as well as those seeking a community where they could belong.”

Champagne, an award-winning writer and documentary flmmaker, spent three years meticulously gathering stories and archival footage to create Aquarius. Her previous work, BAS! Beyond the Red Light, also premiered at the Byron Bay Film Festival in 2010. In Aquarius, Champagne captures the excitement, chaos, and lasting legacy of the festival, from the initial warm welcome by local law enforcement and business owners to the inevitable tensions as the counterculture clashed with the town’s conservative elements.

The flm humorously documents moments like undercover police offcers awkwardly attempting to blend in with the hippies, but it also delves into the serious conficts and debates that arose as the community grappled with these new ideas and behaviours.

Through collaboration with festival-goers, organizers, and flmmakers, Champagne has unearthed hours of rare, candid footage that provides an intimate look at the Aquarius Festival’s origins and its enduring impact on the region. The documentary not only pays tribute to those who championed environmental and social causes but also serves as a reminder of the power of community and protest.

Champagne hopes that Aquarius will resonate with a younger audience facing similar challenges today. The flm highlights how the spirit of the Aquarius Festival lived on decades later, as seen in the mass mobilization of local activists against fracking at Bentley—a victory that embodied the highest values of the Nimbin crowd.

Festival-goers, along with their descendants, continue to uphold the hippie legacy in communities across the Northern Rivers. Aquarius offers a sentimental journey back to those formative years, celebrating a time of innocence, idealism, and a vision for a harmonious future.

Producer Sam Griffn describes the flm as a “confuence of several things,” including a reaction to the Netfix series Byron Baes, the 50th anniversary of the original festival, and the collaboration between Champagne and executive producer Chris Hilton. Griffn praises the flm’s rich visual tapestry, which includes never-before-seen archival footage.

The documentary’s premiere at the Byron Bay Film Festival in October marks a signifcant milestone in its successful festival run. Griffn and the flmmaking team are thrilled to present Aquarius to a home audience, especially as the flm launches its cinema release with

Madman on November 14.

BBFF director J’aimee SkipponVolke underscores the importance of local stories in this year’s festival, noting that Aquarius is the perfect Opening Night flm. “It celebrates what makes the rainbow region so special,” she says. “At a time when many local people feel that our sense of community has been diminished, I believe our festival serves as a vital focal point, bringing us together to explore what matters, support our creative community, and reconnect.”

The Opening Night Gala Party will be a vibrant celebration of the flm and all things Aquarius, with attendees encouraged to dress in their most colorful “Summer of Love” attire and embrace the festival spirit.