MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: BLAK NITE

(VIC) City of Melbourne is pleased to announce the 2010 Blak Nite Cinema program of award-winning short films, documentaries and feature films.

The free event, which takes place on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 February in the Treasury Gardens, will showcase quality Indigenous films along with live local Indigenous music, filmmaker introductions and food stalls.

“Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from last year's event, it is with great pleasure that City of Melbourne is again able to present Blak Nite Cinema for all to enjoy. Indigenous cinema has seen an amazing growth in popularity over the last year with films like Samson and Delilah and Bran Nue Dae, and Blak Nite Cinema is a great way to showcase our support for good quality filmmaking in our diverse city,” said Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.

Friday night’s program comes to life from 7.30pm with live music from Christine Ward. Melbourne Indigenous filmmaker Daniel King will kick-off the screenings introducing his short film The Opportunists, a comedy about the wheelings and dealings of the Aboriginal art industry; short documentary Mad Morro by Kelrick Martin follows a mother who has waited 13 years for her family to finally be reunited; and completing the Friday night line-up is Director Kriv Stenders (Lucky Country) gripping drama Boxing Day, about a desperate father faced with an explosive revelation that could tear his family apart.

In contrast, the Saturday night program, hosted by actor Aaron Pedersen (City Homicide, The Circuit), is a light-hearted look at Indigenous life. Musical entertainment for the evening will be provided by special guest filmmaker Richard Frankland who will also cap-off the night with his comedy Stone Bros. Short films screening include; Dena Curtis’ Hush, which looks at the creative way an Aboriginal woman can make a dollar in an urban situation; and acclaimed filmmaker Warwick Thornton’s (Samson & Delilah) Green Bush – based on Warwick’s real life experience as a radio DJ in Alice Springs.

So, bring a picnic blanket and enjoy a relaxed evening, the warm summer nights, live entertainment and quality Australian cinema in the ambient surrounds of the Treasury Gardens on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 February.

Entertainment will begin at 7.30pm, with the films screening from sunset (approx 8.30pm). For more information visit thatsmelbourne.com.au or phone 9658 9658.