Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival

Shining the spotlight on Australia’s biggest regional short film festival

Lights, camera, action! Aruga rolled out the red carpet and raised the velvet curtain on Heart of Gold International Film Festival, welcoming visitors back to Gympie after a two-year break.

With world premieres, award-winning films, workshops, podcasts, community singalongs, virtual reality painting lessons and a ‘ballgowns and boots’ opening night soirée, Aruga worked with Heart of Gold to celebrate the connection between regional Queensland and the global arts scene.

Aruga struck media gold by combining big name talent with a strong community focus to get the festival on the national radar and reach new audiences – 4.1 million to be exact!

Aruga’s strategic and targeted media activity commanded attention and kept the coverage rolling about Gympie’s golden spirit, long after the popcorn machine was packed away.

PR Results

202

Media clips

4.1M

Potential Audience Reach

$68K

ASR

Deliverables

Pitch plan

Developed strategic editorial pitch plan to boost brand visibility on a national scale

Media Relations

Targeted editorial pitching to national, state and industry press for Heart of Gold and participating talent

Talent profiling

Showcased filmmakers' stories to highlight the importance of regional Australian filmmaking and secure high-quality storytelling opportunities

Winning tactics

Not even major flooding could drown Gympie’s golden spirit. Aruga showcased Gympie’s resilience and its unique regional Queensland experiences through event and talent profiling.

From heartbreaking adversity to First Nations stories and Aussie classics, Aruga leveraged filmmakers’ stories with industry media to strengthen the position of regional filmmaking in the Australian and global arts and cultural sectors.

Aruga’s knowledge and relationships within the film industry run deep. This allowed us to curate timely stories featuring filmmakers and the festival to shine bright.