Meet Gold Coast Film Festival’s New Program Manager – Sasha Close
Highly regarded cinema programmer Sasha Close will curate the 2020 Gold Coast Film Festival.
Sasha has worked on both sides of the Australian cinema industry, starting in distribution before moving into exhibition and programming. From 2016 to 2019, Sasha was the Programming Manager for South Australian independent cinema chain Wallis Cinemas.
“I’m delighted to be appointed Program Manager for the 2020 Gold Coast Film Festival and to be working with Lucy and the Board,” said Sasha.
“The festival has stamped itself on the festival calendar as innovative, forward thinking, inclusive and genuinely focused on diversity. It is an honour to be given the curatorial reigns and I warmly welcome submissions, conversations and collaborations for the 2020 program,” she said.
Sasha has sat on the Board of the Independent Cinemas Association and been a regular contributor at conferences and festivals. In 2016, Sasha was the recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship recognising female leadership in the screen industry and is a current member of the Screen Australia Gender Matters Taskforce.
Festival director Lucy Fisher said the team was excited to work with such a high calibre and highly respected programmer like Sasha.
“Sasha’s incredible experience will help us take the festival to the next level. We are excited to work with her and create a fantastic program for 2020,” said Lucy.
The 18thannual Gold Coast Film Festival will run 15 – 26 April 2020. Feature film, short film, webseries and feature script submissions are open until February 2 through FilmFreeway.
The Gold Coast Film Festival is supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland and Tourism and Events Queensland. The Gold Coast Film Festival is supported by the City of Gold Coast.