My first major duty was to organise the after-party and venue. This was a long process and I am extremely thankful that I got on to it earlier in the semester, as negotiations had to be made and certain staff at potential venues were away on leave. Organising the venue itself on the other hand was another story. As a student-run film festival, we simply did not have the budget to spend on hiring out a space or private room. I remember clearly the first three venues that got back to me had a base rate of $2,000-$3,000. This did not include food and beverage that we would have to also put a deposit down for. One week before the Festival, I almost gave up, as all the venues I had requested for the AP were either too expensive, or a reservation could not be booked for more than 15-20 people. I was exhausted and out of options.

That afternoon, I received a phone call from The Toff, a venue that I found to be particularly appealing and one of which I had previously put in a request for the AP. They said they could host us and even better, as we are a student-run festival, they would waive the fees for us this time around. When I told everyone that we weren’t going to be stranded on Swanston St, there was this burst of relief in the group and you could almost hear screams of happiness from Thomastown and afar.