ABOUT US, The Darwin International Film Festival

ABOUT US

The Darwin Film Society

The Dar­win Film Soci­ety aims to enhance the diverse cul­tur­al expe­ri­ences of our com­mu­ni­ty by pro­vid­ing unique and alter­na­tive film expe­ri­ence to main­stream cin­e­ma in Darwin.

In 1964, a group of film buffs estab­lished the Dar­win Film Soci­ety in Australia’s trop­i­cal North. The orig­i­nal pur­pose for DFS was to screen a broad range of films that were not avail­able at oth­er Dar­win cinemas.

As a not-for-prof­it, the sus­tain­abil­i­ty of DFS relies on the relent­less care of its board of vol­un­teers and its recog­ni­tion by the wider community.

DFS’ main oper­a­tions are the Deckchair Cin­e­ma, Flix in the Wet, and more recent­ly launched the Dar­win Inter­na­tion­al Film Festival.

Deckchair Cin­e­ma opened its gates in 1994 to car­ry out DFS mis­sion to the largest audi­ence and has been screen­ing a unique mix of Aus­tralian, fam­i­ly, for­eign, pop­u­lar and clas­sic films every dry sea­son ever since. The icon­ic out­door cin­e­ma is both a local sta­ple and a vis­i­tors’ must-do. Stand­ing along the Ara­fu­ra sea, ​“the Deckchair” offers stun­ning sun­set views to its patrons before it’s dark enough to turn to the big screen!

Today the Dar­win Film Soci­ety counts 9 com­mit­tee mem­bers, employs 18 peo­ple (casu­al and per­ma­nent) and has an active and grow­ing mem­ber­ship base of more than 1,500 people.

The DIFF Team

John Schi­er / Management Committee

The progression of DIFF amazes me as I have been asso­ci­at­ed since Day 1. In this time we have to thank sev­er­al artis­tic direc­tors, sup­port from all the sev­en DFS man­agers, many vol­un­teers and many committee(d) peo­ple who have all con­tributed to make this fes­ti­val what it is today. I only dreamed we would have the sup­port Screen NT (NT Gov) sup­port of the indus­try and the many gen­er­ous spon­sors who have made this fes­ti­val one we can all be proud of.

Erin Lucas / DIFF Manager

I am incredibly excited to step into the role of Festival Manager in 2025. It is a real privilege to work in role that combines my passion for the arts with my experience in business. With the past two years of hands-on experience in festival operations, I cannot wait to contribute to the success of the festival in a new way, alongside this amazing team. I am looking forward to seeing DIFF grow, and showcasing stories that reflects the diversity of our community.

Neil Lud­vigsen / Pro­gram­ming Committee

In 1968 two events made me take cin­e­ma seri­ous­ly. First­ly, I saw a Cather­ine Deneuve dou­ble of Belle de Jour and Repul­sion fol­lowed a cou­ple of weeks lat­er by a Japan­ese ret­ro­spec­tive of Kuro­sawa films among which were Sev­en Samu­rai, Throne of Blood and Rashomon. I nev­er again saw films as mere entertainment.

Caro Mac­don­ald / Pro­gram­ming Committee

Caro is a film­mak­er, visu­al artist and anthro­pol­o­gist work­ing out of Dar­win, with a deep and long-stand­ing love of cin­e­ma. As a DIFF pro­gram­mer Caro has a par­tic­u­lar pas­sion for the pletho­ra of tal­ent and films emerg­ing from the North­ern Aus­tralian and South­east Asian regions.

Liz Keith / Programming Committee

Since going to see ‘Mary Poppins’ as a preschooler and being dragged out sobbing when told that I couldn’t stay indefinitely, I have been passionate about both movies and cinema-going. As well as being on the Darwin Film Society management committee I am thrilled to be a member of the programming committee for DIFF, and love working with the team to bring intriguing films from around the globe to the big screen in Darwin. In my other life I have a background in law, social work and dispute resolution, and am also a writer with my first children’s book on the way. It is a delight and privilege to help choose films for DIFF, and I hope that audiences enjoy this program immensely.

Markus Tumuls / Programming Committee

It was great to be asked again to be on the programming committee for DIFF! As part of a talented team behind this year’s festival I hope people enjoy the breadth of films on offer and to give people a taste of cinema that they would normally not experience. So make sure you bring your friends and family, put the phone down, enjoy the sunset and embrace a shared experience under the stars.