Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to announce the support of the inaugural Veterans Film Festival through the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program. The festival, to be held in my electorate of Parramatta, will use film to tell the important stories of our service personnel, ex-service personnel and their families. Specifically, it will commemorate 100 years of Anzac.

Screen My Shorts will partner with the Parramatta RSL Club to tell local and national stories of our veterans and military history. Screen My Shorts is no stranger to Parramatta. It has worked locally with Parramatta City Council to promote awareness of homelessness through its initiative Project Homeless, as well as hosting the annual sci-fi film festival at Parramatta Riverside Theatre.

Tom Papas, the festival director, has been driving the creation of this festival and hopes to make it an ongoing and international festival. He is a strong advocate for nurturing new talent in the film industry and brings over 12 years of experience with him to the festival.

This is an excellent initiative that will help people of all generations and backgrounds, including RSL clubs, schools, and budding filmmakers, engage with the Anzac centenary. I am pleased that the film festival will also welcome films in languages other than English in order to showcase the unique multicultural history of the Anzacs. By documenting these stories, we will ensure that our local and national Anzac history is remembered.