NEW South Wales regional filmmakers will be parade from this weekend in the Far South Film Festival, which has quickly gone online.

Organisers promises that the event will present “the unique, the beautiful, the scary and the moving stories from filmmakers living outside the metropolitan areas of our island continent,” making it ideal lockdown entertainment.

With package deals that allow patrons to watch all 15 festival films, with add-on options to view Q&As and awards, the festival opens at noon on Saturday, August 21 and continues online until August 31.

Good news is that nine of the films are non-classified, that is to say, with no age restrictions, so the whole family can tune in.

Among the films in contention for the $1000 major prize for Best Film are “Bama”, an autobiographical film directed by Jahvis Loveday from Ocean Shores in the Northern Rivers region of NSW depicting the aftermath of the first day of private school in the city for a young Aboriginal boy.

One of the documentaries on show is “Local Talent, Global Dreams” directed by Ryan Twemlow from Berry, NSW, telling the stories of talented teenagers around NSW and to get their talent out into the world.

In another doco, “Wild Legacies,” directed by David Gallan from Tathra, NSW, two contrasting environmental campaigners work for the defence of Tasmania’s natural heritage in the face of industrial scale logging.

It may be a couple of hours away by road, but Canberra is not forgotten, with two entries from ACT region filmmakers and involvement by the National Musuem in another, “Yuwinj Dhari-Bulwal, Yuin Stand Strong” by Warren Ngarrae Foster & Hiromi Matsuoka.

In the thriller category is “Becoming Emma Braintree,” directed by Joshua Koske from Googong, which revolves around Kaylee, a frontline therapist who dresses as the lost loved one of her clients. There’s a warning of mental health themes in this one, with scenes that may frighten young children.

The Sci Fi Drama “The Girl on the Moon”, directed by Georgina Jenkins from Canberra, flashes forward to 2069, when Aboriginal Australian girl Luna, the only child ever born on the Moon, yearns to travel to Earth.

Far South Film Festival, August 21 – 31. Bookings here online.farsouthfilmfestival.com

The full list of selected film is here:

• “The Girl on the Moon” (SciFi)
• “Nanna Power: The Story of the Gloucester Knitting Nannas” (Doco)
• “Wild Legacies” (Doco)
• “The Cookie” (Comedy)
• “Invisible” (Doco)
• “Bagan, Barra Barra, Mirriwarr – Land Sea Sky” (Music Video)
• “Becoming Emma Braintree” (Thriller) 15+
• “Painting By Numbers” (Animation) 15+
• 50 year Storm (Doco) 15+
• “Rising Sun” (Music Video) 15+
• “Yuwinj Dhari-Bulwal -Yuin Stand Strong” (Doco) 15+
• “Clockumentary” (Mockumentary) 15+
• “Bama: (Semi-Autobiography)
• “Changing Paradigms – The Power of Regenerative Agriculture” (Doco)
• “Local Talent, Global Dreams” (Doco)