Community stories: 28 July 2020
The annual Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival has been running since 2014, and is widely considered a staple on the town’s arts calendar. It’s an exciting event that fosters cultural vibrancy in this small, regional town.
C-Doc established a Not-for-Profit Fundraising Account with FRRR in May 2019, with the intention of raising funds to help them deliver a festival that creates a shared sense of belonging and connectedness among diverse community members and people who are inspired and engaged to build a better world.
Like many communities, never has this been so important than this year. The unprecedented circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the festival planning, and C-Doc had to rethink the logistics behind the popular event.
What started out as a postponement was soon reinvented as an online-only ‘Mini Festival’ instead, to cater for any further disruption and potential increases in social-distancing restrictions. The new, reimagined festival was introduced to the community as C-Doc In The Clouds 2020.
Supported by the funds raised through their FRRR account, C-Doc adapted effectively to these new circumstances, and produced an ‘On-live’ (live-to-air) festival which aired last weekend. Despite the technical challenges, the festival featured a curated selection of enriching and thought-provoking documentaries, complete with live discussion panels following each screening. Forty lucky people were fortunate to attend each of the screenings held at the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, with appropriate social-distancing measures in place.
C-Doc’s ability to adapt and reinvent the event in such a short amount of time was inspirational, and high hopes are held for the festival’s return again next year – online or otherwise.
If you’d like to explore having a Fundraising Account for your community project, contact Jo Kemp, FRRR’s Philanthropic Services Manager.
