Waverley Council votes to grant nearly $200k in funding for Flickerfest 2024

A Sydney council has granted almost $200,000 in funding to the popular and long-running Flickerfest film festival after a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.

Bondi Pavillion 2022

Flickerfest will continue to shine bright after a push from Waverley councillors to grant almost $200,000 for its 2024 film festival.

Mayor Paula Masselos and several Green councillors had rescinded their vote against paying the for-profit organisation $29,855.50, submitting their motion to rescind the resolution on December 7.

But Waverley councillors met again with revised paper work on Tuesday night and decided in a closed-door meeting to grant $133,979 of in-kind support and $61,000 in cash to support the event.

Last year, the council paid a one-off, in-kind sum of $135,825 for the festival to go ahead.

The “in-kind” sum is a non-cash contribution of goods or services, which are either offered free or at less than usual charge for them.

The Wentworth Courier has previously reported that in 2019, the council reported it had matched the film festival’s $7,850 in venue hire fees, but costs for the event hit more than $200,000 in 2022.

The Flickerfest film festival is one of the longest running events held at the Bondi Pavilion, supporting Australian short filmmakers and international short films for more than 20 years at the eastern suburb venue.

A Waverley Council spokesperson said council remained a major supporter of Flickerfest during its time in Bondi and supported the local arts industry in Waverley.