Nambour Showdown: Majestic to host special screening of local film projects
Former Nambour High students Dan Munday, a producer on Survivor, left, and Powderfinger drummer Jon Coghill.
by Janine Hill
NAMBOUR will get the last look, for now, at eight locally dreamed, locally driven film projects.
A special screening of a collection of four short films, a documentary, two reality shows and a Powderfinger music video from the past two years of Sunny Coast Showdown will be held at Nambour’s Majestic Cinema on Friday, 3 November.
Sunny Coast Showdown is a film and television talent incubator created by former Nambour High students Jon Coghill, of Powderfinger, and Dan Munday, a producer on Survivor and four-time Emmy nominee who spent 10 years working for the likes of MGM and NBC.
“A couple of years after returning home Jon, who I knew from school, and I were on a surf trip and he brought up the idea of producing short films as a competition and Showdown was born,” Dan said.
“We met and partnered with the incredible team at Sunshine Coast Screen Collective and the rest is history.”
For the past two years, Sunny Coast Showdown has invited submissions of local scripts and ideas for short films, documentaries, reality TV and music videos and then matched the best ones with the means, mentors and skills to make them happen.
Dan and Jon came up with $45,000 from their own pockets, sponsors and other sources for the first Showdown but increased that to $200,000 for the second thanks to Bendigo Bank, Screen Queensland, local governments and philanthropists, and they are aiming for $350,000 third time around.
“Your idea plus our money equals your film. Basically, we raise money, then run a competition in which locals submit their ideas for films and TV shows and we select six or seven a year to make,” Dan said.
Dan said people often had amazing ideas but often lacked the time, money and know-how to make them a reality.
“That’s where we come in. We form a team around each winner and allow them to be part of the process.”
He said two shows had been picked up for international production from the first Sunny Coast Showdown and the second round had so far produced more than 20 film festival wins and selections
The time was right for a film industry to grow and flourish on the Coast, he said.
“There is depth of talent here that is staggering and a global need for more studio space. The Sunny Coast is well primed to start producing large scale film and TV projects and become a major industry for the region.”
• The screening takes place Friday November 3 from 6.30pm-9.30pm at Majestic Cinemas Nambour.
