Filmmakers from south-west Victoria and as far as California and the United Kingdom will showcase their work as a centrepiece of the inaugural Warrnambool Winter Solstice Surf Film Festival.

Sam Pendergast, a Warrnambool resident for 20 years, is part of the volunteer committee running the show. 

“There’s a rich surfing community in the south-west but there’s not a lot of culture or activity to complement it,” he said. 

“The breakwater is such an incredibly coastal structure, so we thought ‘why not combine our beautiful coastal landscape with a creative surfing outlet’.” 

Mr Pendergast said the cross section of local and international film submissions was a “really beautiful thing”. 

“All of the films are surfing related, but we’ve also got a couple that focus less on surfing as a performance and more on the aesthetic of the waves,” he said. 

The project will consist of six to eight short films projected 15 to 20 metres apart on the wall of the breakwater and running concurrently on repeat. Mr Pendergast said attendees would have about an hour of viewing.

“We’ve done a few test screenings and the beauty of the project is the way the screens come to life against the rich texture of the breakwater surface,” he said.  “It’s a lovely combination of cutting edge technology and weather worn coastal structures.” 

Warrnambool City Council events and promotion coordinator Rebecca Elmes said the council was “very supportive of the wonderful event”.  “We are working very closely with the event organisers to gain the appropriate permits and permissions for the event to take place,” she said.

 “This is a really great vision and it will utilise that waterfront area and focus on an iconic Warrnambool landmark.” 

The projection will run from 5pm on Saturday June 23. Mr Pendergast said a back up plan had been made if the weather was bad.