This year the Sanctuary Film Festival is being taken to new heights with the addition of a free (yes, free!) full-day outdoor film extravaganza on the Saturday, which will shine a family-friendly spotlight on the Sanctuary Cove Marine Village. From 11:00 am, live musicians and performers will create the ultimate carnival atmosphere to set the scene for a buzzing Saturday full of film workshops for emerging young actors and movie fans, professional make-up sessions by Hollywood FX (we’re totally getting a zombie face) and a dedicated kids film festival showcasing a series of animated masterpieces.

Things will get a little more glamorous after sunset when the red carpet is rolled out at 7:00 pm to officiate the festival’s headlining short films, which will be showcased on a giant open-air screen. The night will feature 14 thought-provoking short films by some of the industry’s most renowned and talented emerging filmmakers, including festival highlight The Telegram – a highly celebrated film by BAFTA Los Angeles winner and Australian Academy Awards nominee James Francis Khehtie, starring Jack Thompson, Gary Sweet and Sigrid Thornton. All up, 30 feature films, short films and documentaries have been shortlisted to screen at the Sanctuary Film Festival. If you’re keen to soak up the red-carpet vibes like the true film buff you are, then you can nab yourself one of the limited VIP tickets, which includes red-carpet entry to Saturday’s short-film screening with drinks and canapes, as well as entry to the exclusive documentary and feature-films screening on Sunday, which kicks off at 6:30 pm in Sanctuary Cove’s Village Theatre.