Inside the Gold Coast Film Festival’s biggest year yet

The 12-day festival has kicked off with star-studded events and awards, with more world premieres, local films and live performances still ahead.

Gold Coast Film Festival ambassador Lincoln Lewis with the team from Hagar’s Hut by SEQ Filmmaker Stephen Osborne, starring Lincoln Lewis and Zarlia Chisholm. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The Gold Coast Film Festival is in full swing as it heads into its first full weekend of screenings, red carpets and community events, following a packed opening night and a star-studded industry awards gala that set the tone for its 23rd year.

The festival officially launched on Wednesday at Home of the Arts with the Australian premiere of The Ballad of Wallis Island, where filmmakers and VIPs walked the red carpet alongside festival ambassador Lincoln Lewis.

Gold Coast Film Festival Ambassador Lincoln Lewis. Photo: Gold Coast Film Festival.

Organisers spent months reimagining this year’s program to be more interactive, immersive and guest-friendly, a deliberate evolution to reflect the Gold Coast’s fast-growing influence in Australia’s screen industry.

“In the past, when talking about film festivals, it’s always been for the film people,” Lewis said. “But now we want to make it something people can come to and enjoy as a whole.”

The celebrations continued on Thursday night at Warner Bros. Movie World with the annual Gold Coast Film Awards Gala, where acclaimed filmmaker Robert Connolly (The Dry, Balibo) was presented with the prestigious Chauvel Award. “I’m delighted, I’m really flattered to receive that award, because it’s quite a prestigious acknowledgment,” Connolly said.

Robert Connolly won the 2025 Chauvel Award at the Gold Coast Film Festival Awards Gala. Photo: Gold Coast Film Festival.

Other major winners included Blue Horizon by Josh Hale (Best Queensland Feature), Ruff and Ruby by Jessica Trinity Fisher (Best Australian Web Series), and Gold Coast director Grace Wriggles was named Emerging Filmmaker of the Year.

Still to come is the world premiere of Hagar’s Hut on Thursday, a psychological thriller directed by Stephen Osborne and filmed in South East Queensland. Lewis stars as a reclusive bush-dweller who forms a tense and increasingly disturbing bond with a woman on the run, played by rising star Zarlia Chisholm.

Gold Coast Film Festival ambassador Lincoln Lewis with the team from Hagar’s Hut by SEQ Filmmaker Stephen Osborne, starring Lincoln Lewis and Zarlia Chisholm. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“It’s cool playing a character that is quite far removed from what I’ve been sort of playing in recent years,” Lewis said. “It was a real treat working with Zarlia, she’s such a talent.”

Also generating buzz is Carnal Vessels, a dark comedic thriller acquired by Radioactive Pictures which will make its debut on May 7 ahead of a digital release on May 15, starring Daniel Simpson, Arnijka Larcombe-Weate and Dylan Stumer.

Pop icon Peter Andre is set to perform live on Friday before the premiere of his latest film Jafaican.

Running until May 11, the Gold Coast Film Festival also includes a series of free community events, panels and writers’ workshops, offering aspiring filmmakers rare access to insights from some of Australia’s most respected screen professionals.

The event will close with the world premiere of Blue Horizon, which stars cerebral palsy advocate and first-time actor Damian McCoy, a former festival volunteer whose own story inspired the film’s central character.