Quambatook Silo Cinema
Crocodile Dundee 22 February 2020
Quambatook Silo Cinema is proud to screen Crocodile Dundee on February 22rd, 2020
Dress in your best 80s or safari gear and rock up and enjoy this unique experience under the glorious Mallee night sky.
The movie is set to start on sunset, but show up early, grab a meal and join in the fun and atmosphere that the Quamby Silo Cinema is renowned for.
BYO Chairs and blankets.
Tickets now on sale from https://www.trybooking.com/BHKHX
Our Past Movies
The Labyrinth - April 2016
The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Oct 2016
The Dressmaker - February 2017
The Water Diviner - April 2017
Priscilla Queen of the Desert - October 2017
Muriel’s Wedding - February 2018
Last Cab to Darwin - May 2018
The Castle - October 2018
The Merger - February 2019
Crackerjack - October 2019
Priscilla - October 2018
IT ALL STARTED AFTER…
an Artist in Residence, Dave Houston, had the brilliant idea to project his short film about Quambatook locals onto silo’s in 2014. The audience were amazed at how un-distorted and clear the images were and this got us thinking how it could be a regular event to keep us locals entertained.
The interest in Silo art became a hot topic with Guido Van Helten’s iconic mural on the Brim silo. The Quambatook Community Development Association (QCDA) saw an opportunity to capitalise on this and applied for a grant through the Foundations for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) Small Grants Program for the purchase of a powerful projector to allow us to project onto the silos.
OUR BEGINNINGS…
were a little rough around the edges. With the assistance of the Gannawarra Shire Council we hired a sound technician to help us out and joined forces to screen our first movie for National Youth Week in April of 2016, The Labyrinth, to an audience of about 50 (including us volunteers). Our next screening, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was chosen for Halloween. A mozzie plague meant that even the locals didn’t want to venture out and, including the volunteers, only 15 people attended.
As a committee we were all a little dejected. Should we try again? We knew we had a great idea and that it was unique and truly Australian. So we thought, why not try one more time but show an Australian movie that reflects that hardships of small towns.
The Dressmaker
Held on a beautiful day in February 2017, The Dressmaker attracted an audience of 250 people. Not only that, a large amount of our audience got into the swing of things and took our advice to
“Frock up and Rock up”.
We had a hit and Quamby Silo Cinema was now officially a thing.
The biggest take home message for other community groups is that if you have a great idea, stick with it. Persistence can pay off.
The Quambatook Silo Cinema..
now screens a couple of times a year, with screenings mainly held with a new moon in February and October. We now screen exclusively Australian movies and our events are famous for the atmosphere, food and fun before the movie as much as our uniqueness for screening the movies on our silos.
Frequently asked questions…
“Why don’t you do more than a couple of screenings a year?”
This is a common question, and believe me there is method to our madness. Firstly, in high summer the sun sets very late here and dusk is very long. We wouldn’t be able to start screening the movies until after 10pm, meaning a very late finish. Being a Mallee town, we also have harvest and as our silo’s are functioning, we simply couldn’t close down the road without effecting the farmers.
In winter, while the sunsets earlier, it is cold and most of our volunteers have other obligations like football and netball most weekends. We have screened movies in mid year for special events such as ANZAC day and sponsored events. but generally these are events where we know we will have a significant audience before hand.
“We have a silo in our town and would like to run Silo Cinema’s too. Can you give us some advice?”
We are proud of our event and as harsh as it may sound, we would like to stay unique. We would be happy to give advice on how to market events to wider audiences but as far as running silo cinemas go, we really don’t want to share it. Sorry, but the Quambatook Silo Cinema is a major fundraiser for our little town providing opportunities for small groups and businesses to make some outside money.
“Is there food available?”
YES YES YES. We have a number of small groups that cater our events. We have hot potatoes, hamburgers, waffles, drinks, sausage sizzles and a local coffee van. You are also welcome to BYO a picnic.