Mildura is large regional city of approximately 60,000 people, and I think I was introduced to nearly every single one of them during my visit! An oasis of food, culture, coffee and hospitality – I met more people in 12 days in Mildura than I had in 12 years in Melbourne!

Big Screen in Mildura runs as part of the Mildura Wentworth Arts Festival (MWAF), a magnificent festival run by the amazing team of Helen Healy (Festival Director), Brodie Steel and Kara Smith. They, their fantastic board and team of volunteers run a four-week arts festival, which has just achieved major events status in Victoria.

The whole town was excited by the visit of Mick Molloy as a guest of Big Screen. Both Mick and his brother/co-writer Richard were in fine form and proved to be the most generous and warm-hearted guests. They popped into the Deakin Cinema after the high school screening of Crackerjack and surprised about 130 students by answering every question imaginable about lawn bowls!

Big Screen’s opening night featured BoyTown, co-written by Mick and Richard and starring Mick and a bevy of Australian comedians. Two hundred people laughed themselves silly and then moved on to the lovely, historic Mildura Club to have a drink with the Molloys after the film. Many thanks to Brad and staff for coping with us all on such a hot (and thirsty) night.

On Saturday morning Mick was the guest at a very well-attended Q&A session with local up-and-coming comedians, as part of MWAF. Sadly the Molloys then had to get back to Melbourne, after having photos taken with just about every person in Mildura.

Sunday night saw our first outdoor screening, The Caterpillar Wish, at the Homestead Lawns – a beautiful location on the banks of the Murray River. The screen’s backdrop is an old, beautifully restored shearing shed. The people of Mildura brought blankets, camping chairs and picnics and settled in for a beautiful night under the stars. Catching the moon out of the corner of my eye while watching the film was magical.

I was wondering how Last Train to Freo would go in Mildura – a brilliant Australian film that had quite a short run in the cinemas. Fortunately Mildura folk are an adventurous lot and came out to see the powerful performance by Steve Le Marquand. The lightning storm in the distance provided the perfect background for this dark, powerful, mesmerising film.

The International Women’s Day screening of Strictly Ballroom was a family affair. Lots of parents brought their children to see it on the big screen for the first time. What a colourful film, and so romantic. I’ve seen this film at least 27 times and I can watch it again and again.

This year Big Screen had its first screening in Wentworth, a very pretty town about 30km from Mildura. Our site was a beautiful park at the junction (or confluence) of the Murray and Darling Rivers. Surrounded on three sides by a levee, the park was a natural amphitheatre and the perfect location to screen Muriel’s Wedding.

The enthusiasm of the people of Mildura can be demonstrated, by the 600 people that turned out for the outdoor screening of Kenny. I knew it was going to be big when people started turning up at 7 for an 8.30pm screening, with blankets, chairs and overflowing picnic baskets. A warm night, public holiday the next day, and a very funny film combined to create one of the largest crowds Big Screen has ever had.

Many thanks to the gorgeous people of Mildura, the Mildura Rural City Council and the Mildura Wentworth Arts Festival for making this year’s festival the best Big Screen in Mildura yet.

Gordana Bacic, Big Screen Festival Coordinator