Cockatoo Island Film Festival: looking at the numbers behind the collapse

How could a festival run by the experienced, energetic pair of Alannah Zitserman and Stavros Kazantzidis in a fabulous dockyard location in the middle of Sydney Harbour come so badly unstuck? The docu
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How could a festival run by the experienced, energetic pair of Alannah Zitserman and Stavros Kazantzidis in a fabulous dockyard location in the middle of Sydney Harbour come so badly unstuck? The documents prepared by David Solomons and Riad Tayeh of deVRies Tayeh are grimly instructive.

The financial collapse of the Cockatoo Island Film Festival has now been finalised, and creditors are left to expect a maximum of 9.7c in the dollar. Total liabilities are $1,785,645, while trade creditors are owed $879,648.

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.