High Steaks: Peter V’landys unveils plans for a short film festival in Sydney

Holding two of the highest profile jobs in sport, you might think Peter V’landys would be content to rest on his laurels. But you’d be wrong; the rugby league boss and racing supremo has now set his sights on a completely different arena.

Peter V’landys has set his sights on his next major project, reintroducing a short film festival to Sydney that he hopes will become one of the city’s biggest events and an international drawcard.

The “Airfryers” festival will provide an opportunity for up-and-coming filmmakers and actors to get their big break, with V’landys already securing scholarships and in talks with streaming giants about buying the festival’s best films, with the money going to the filmmakers.

The Australian Rugby League Chairman and Racing NSW CEO’s proven record of turning brainwaves into triumphs – you could call it the “PVL effect” – like the Everest and the NRL’s opening round in Las Vegas, mean it is a fair bet his latest visionary venture will get noticed.

V’landys unveiled the Airfryers idea as he sat down for lunch at Lotus Barangaroo this week and told how a discussion about air fryers with a friend morphed into a chat about the lack of opportunities for their child, an aspiring creative, and inspired the idea.

“I thought to myself, ‘how does a young person in ­Australia get into the film industry if you don’t get into NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art)?’,” V’landys said.

Australian Rugby League Chairman and Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys sits down for a High Steaks interview with journalist Josh Hanrahan. Picture: Richard Dobson

“There was a short film festival called Tropfest and it used to give young artists an opportunity to show what they could do and then they used to get jobs in (film).

“It used to give them a start … so I thought I’d revive that and do a short film festival, but I want to call it The Airfryers.

“The whole idea is to get young film artists working in the film industry and to make Australia one of the leading film nations in the world.

“In rugby league we have pathways … this is going to be a pathway for filmmakers and who knows, you might become the next Paul Hogan, who went from working on the Sydney Harbour Bridge to having one of the highest grossing movies in the world.”

In typical V’landys fashion, as he unveils the idea in reality he is already several steps ahead.

V’landys knows Australia has a bunch of Hollywood A-listers and getting them to back it and be involved will be key.

He is already planning to make it a truly NSW event, with a main film festival in the CBD, while also running simultaneous satellite events in suburbs like Parramatta and regional centres like Dubbo, Ballina and Albury.

V’Landys in 2002, when he was CEO of the NSW Harness Racing Club. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

He forecasts The Airfryers will receive more than 20,000 entries and wants it to be a major event — something he bemoans a shortage of in Sydney.

“We’re building massive new hotels, but we don’t have the people (visiting) to put into them,” he said.

As he finishes talking about the Airfryers idea, V’landys wants to clarify that it is not about him making money, but rather giving kids the opportunities he had.

It is striking that a man who has helped everyone from single mothers to kids with cancer via his Fairy Godfathers charity thinks that clarification is required.

Enjoying an early afternoon meal with V’landys is something few get to experience, with requests for an interview in recent years told “he doesn’t stop for lunch”.

“Normally a lunch like this would take two hours. In my schedule, that takes a lot out of your day,” he explains.

At Royal Randwick Racecourse in 2004.

Usually the only way to lunch with him is on a Saturday afternoon at Randwick or Rosehill Racecourses, where he holds court. As his guests wine and dine, and the Sweet Caroline-singing crowds booze away, V’landys will only ever be spotted with a Pepsi.

“I never drink at work events, and at the races, I’m at work. I think you have to have all your senses, especially if you’re the boss,” he said.

V’landys estimates he attends more than 30 race days a year, which he admits can be taxing. But away from the serious work, there is a fun side.

V’landys is a lover of the old-school practical joke, with everyone from the rich and famous, to his young employees, on the receiving end.

“You’ve got to keep a straight face, that’s the hardest part, you can’t laugh half way through it,” he said.

Friends of V’landys tell of his other loves, like gadgets, which have seen him turn his home into a hi-tech cave that allows him to control everything from the lights to the garage door from his phone.

Early next year he will go to the United States not for meetings about the NRL opening round, but to attend an international tech show.

Another insider tip tells of his love of shopping and a habit of taking an empty suitcase away on holiday, which regularly returns home full.

V’landys hopes The Airfryers can fill the gap left by Tropfest, which held its last event in 2019. Picture: Damian Shaw

Despite loving shopping he is the first to admit fashion is not his thing, but there is one item he has come to love.

Whether on stage at the NRL Grand Final presentations, in a suite at the races, or at this week’s lunch, V’landys always opts for the same shoe — a thick-soled pair of Swiss made orthopaedic loafers.

“Look, I have really wide feet, and a normal shoe doesn’t fit me, right? So when I used to buy shoes, all my toes would cramp up and my little toe was completely stuffed,” he explains.

“So I found these shoes called MBTs, which are Swiss made … and they were the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had and immediately fixed my problem.”

The events supremo with his daughter Katerina at the 2024 Dally M Awards. Picture: Christian Gilles

V’landys is hesitant to discuss how long he will be able to keep doing two of the highest profile jobs in sport.

He tells how he has only been sacked once, when as a teenager working at a petrol station he was unable to turn the kerosene tap off after helping a customer fill up and flooded the joint with fuel.

“My boss said to me, ‘Mate, I don’t think you need to come back next week’,” he laughs.

V’landys’ back story about arriving in Australia as a toddler after a 40-day boat ride from Greece is well known.

His heritage is a large part of who he is and why he works so hard, never forgetting the struggles his parents went through to bring his family out.

But he almost never made it to Australia.

“I do remember that I used to get a bleeding nose and one night I nearly bled to death because they couldn’t stop it,” he said.

As we stand up to leave, V’landys can barely take a few steps without being stopped.

When one man tells him he loves the Las Vegas opening round concept, V’landys suggests he should make the journey over in 2025.

“I am, I’m coming next year,” the man replies.

That’s the PVL effect.

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Originally published as High Steaks: Peter V’landys unveils plans for a short film festival in Sydney