Legislative Council, Tuesday 18 October, 2022

Ms. FORREST (Murchison) - Mr President, I expect you are of an age where you can remember the attraction of going to the drive-in to watch movies in the car. I am sure you were not one of those who sought to reduce your costs of getting into the drive-in by putting people in the boot of your car, as you had to pay per person in the vehicle. I am sure that was not you. This was not so easily detected, back in the day after you got into the drive-in, as you could get people out of the boot, with the dim lighting and no security cameras. Quite an easy task. This practice, sadly, did come to an end when those manning the ticket office started checking boots of the cars on entry.

I am sure you and other members will recall the need to also turn off your headlights because there were no automatic headlights in those days. You also, very importantly, needed to remember to hang up the speaker on the pole before you drove away to avoid damaging your car, mostly the window or the speaker or the cord itself. Many a speaker travelled with the cord trailing as it left the drive-in. This was well before the digital age. It is, in many ways, a real loss that these no longer exist in Tasmania - that is, until the weekend after next, you will be pleased to hear. The weekend of the 28-30 October, you can go back and enjoy the wonders of the drive-in and see some great and unique and movies in a special drive-in theatre. I know you are asking, where is this exciting event?

Mr Valentine - Where is this exciting event?

Ms FORREST - And what movies can you see? It all takes place on the runway of the Queenstown Aerodrome, just a few kilometres out of town from Queenstown.

Mr Valentine - Hopefully when there are not any planes landing.

Ms FORREST - No, there will be no planes landing. It is booked for the event and not for planes. Surrounded by the beautiful mountainous landscape, you can drive to this alcohol free event and take as many people in the boot of your car as you like - because the price is a mere $50 per vehicle to watch two movies on one night. If you want to just watch one movie the price is $35, regardless of how many people you manage to pile into your car.

There is also a shuttle ticket for $20 which includes bus transport to and from Queenstown, with outdoor seating available for anyone who wishes to brave the elements. The movies will be shown on large screens placed alongside the runway. There are no door sales so you will need to book online to secure your spot. It is most important that you do not forget to book accommodation to avoid missing out. You can book right across the west coast for this because you will be driving to the drive-in.

The movies you can see on Friday night are Close Encounters of the Third Kind, rated PG, and The Nightingale, which is much later in the evening, rated MA15+. On Saturday night you can see Explorers which is rated PG, and Mad Max Fury Road, rated MA15+, also at the later timeslot. On Sunday you can see The Tale of Ruby Rose rated PG by Roger Scholes which is set in the wild isolated wilderness the highlands of lutruwita/Tasmania. A diverse range of short films and curated content by independent artists will also be presented alongside the feature films.

What I have described is The Unconformity's 2022 UNTV. For full disclosure, I note I am a proud member of The Unconformity Board and, along with my other fellow board members, I will be attending this exciting event. The brochure I have provided to all members describes this as an experiment by The Unconformity and this experiment presents iconic movies and creative content on the big screen. There will be food available on site, as well as bathroom facilities, just like in the good old days of the drive-in.

I thank the Government for their ongoing support of the arts and culture, especially for The Unconformity, a renowned organisation, in producing a biennial iconic festival with UNTV presented between major festivals. Members may recall that the 2021 festival had to be cancelled at short notice on the day we started the festival, due to the snap three day lock down for COVID-19 in southern Tasmania, which meant that a lot of our volunteers and crew and artists were stuck in Hobart and could not get out.

I know the whole team and the board sincerely appreciated the support from the Government and Events Tasmania at the time and in supporting The Unconformity to continue to deliver iconic and unique arts events in some of the wildest places. I hope to see many of you there. Bring warm clothes and rugs to keep you warm as you go back to the drive-in, which will truly be an event not to be missed.