ABOUT HEART OF GOLD
Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival is an annual love affair of brilliant short films,
acclaimed features, epic parties, live music, filmmaker Q+A’s, and hearty discussions with delicious food and beer.
BRILLIANT SHORT FILMS, FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD
Every year Gympie comes alive with film lovers from far and wide to celebrate short films that are uplifting, heartwarming and inspirational during Queensland’s biggest short film festival, Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival.
Heart of Gold programs carefully-crafted short films from around the world that deeply resonate with all types of audiences. The three day program includes more than 20 sessions of shorts from all genres that best capture Heart of Gold’s vision to screen films that are heart-warming, thought-provoking and entertaining. Our films can be edgy, they can be groundbreaking, and they can be downright hilarious – as long as they beat with a good, strong heart.
Selected shorts compete for a range of jury awards, which this year include but are not limited to: Best Short Film, Best Australian Short Film, Best Student Short Film, alongside many craft awards.
Since its inception in 2006, Heart of Gold has become renowned for its high-quality international program, which is largely thanks to a very unique, two-part screening system. The films are first viewed by the festival’s artistic director and passed onto small screener groups, who gather in lounge-rooms across Gympie to review and score the countless, cherished submissions. This makes Heart of Gold films not only treasured by the community around them but also sure to stand the test of time nationally and abroad.
With films from renowned international festivals such as Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale and Venice, past winners of the Heart of Gold Best Short Film award include James Lucas and Mat Kirkby for The Phone Call (2014) and Lucy Gaffy for Dream Baby (2016), who went on to win an Academy Award and an AACTA respectively.
MEET THE TEAM
THE FESTIVAL TEAM
The festival team are on the frontlines to deliver an outstanding Heart of Gold Festival in 2025 and beyond.
NICOLE HARPER — FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
festivaldirector@heartofgold.com.au
TO BE ANNOUNCED — FILM COORDINATOR
program@heartofgold.com.au
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Board of Directors, consisting of passionate locals, runs the Heart of Gold team to deliver the annual festival and all satellite events.
CHAIR: Fiona Herrington Fiona is a Social Worker working as a Counsellor for a local Non-Government service which provides support to women in the Gympie region. She has a special interest in trauma and its effects. She has lived in Gympie for 40 years, and been a Volunteer with the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival almost since its inception. She is passionate about the capacity of film to elevate us above the every-day concerns of life, and loves that HOG strives to deliver a festival to uplift people and engender hope.
SECRETARY: Jo Wray Jo is a Registered Nurse with 17 years experience working in regional hospitals, general practice, aged care, and as a film set nurse. Before transitioning into nursing, she was a career public servant and worked for the ATO and Customs. Jo became part of the festival team in 2023 to support an organisation that brings joy to the Gympie community each year. In 2024, she was excited to join the board as a member and she currently serves in the role of Secretary.
TREASURER: Keesha Cook Keesha is ANZ Gympie Branch Manager and centers on cultivating robust customer relationships and spearheading business growth. Her team's approach to customer engagement has resulted in a fortified client base and the surpassing of sales targets. Keesha has played an active role in community and sporting groups in the community and was awarded Gympie volunteer of the year from Sunshine Coast Junior League for her contribution.
MEMBER: Tanya Modini Tanya Modini is an award-winning filmmaker who creates compelling, women centred screen stories. Tanya draws inspiration from her previous roles which include police officer, trauma counsellor, and gendered violence researcher. Recent work includes producing a short film with Luisa Martiri titled Pleasure-Seeking by writer/director Michaela Holmes which was shot in May 2024, and it is currently in post-production. The pilot episode of the family crime dramedy series Tanya created and is currently developing, WATCH YOUR HEAD (formally LOVE LIES), was longlisted for the Australian Writers Guild Emerging Writers Awards 2024.
MEMBER: Lesa Bell Publisher and Editor of Gympie Living magazine. Lesa graduated with a Bachelor of Theatre in 1992 and has enjoyed her varied career of project management, tourism, hospitality, creative industries and most recently in disability employment as CEO of Jobmatch Employment. She publishes a free fully independent local art and enviro magazine celebrating the community.
MEMBER: Tess Parker Tess Parker is a highly experienced (40years) Human Services practitioner, educator and change agent, bringing senior leadership and management in the areas of quality assurance; governance; strategic and operational review and planning; and transformation planning and implementation. She brings a proven track record in stakeholder engagement across government, community, and corporate sectors, as well as in people management across local, regional, state, and national arenas. Tess is currently engaged by the University of the Sunshine Coast’s, School of Law and Society. She is a non-Indigenous woman with both Mununjali and Kabi Kabi family, and resides on Kabi Kabi land with her family and rescue horses.