French feel to film festival fever

Bunbury had a taste of French culture on Friday as CinefestOZ fever starts to take hold in the city.

Volunteers dressed in French-themed clothes and visited businesses around the central business district to hand out brochures ahead of the annual film festival, which runs from August 26-30.

Bunbury events coordinator Carol McDowall said the idea behind promoting the festival with French-themed props was to honour its heritage.

"CinefestOZ started as a French and Australian festival so we wanted to combine the bike and the fashion - which are both very French - to promote the festival," she said. "French films still remain as a part of the festival and there will be French film shorts shown as a part of it."

Mrs McDowall said the reaction from the public was positive and people were becoming excited about the festival in Bunbury.

"We stopped at cafes and other places around town and handed out brochures and talked to people about the festival, including the free screenings," she said.

"Some people already had brochures and I think the word is getting out there about the festival - which is great - but many people don't know about the French component of CinefestOZ."

Mrs McDowall said the volunteers also visited shops participating in CinefestOZ's shop window competition.

"It was exciting because the shops were inspired by red carpets, while others had vintage movie projectors and film icons," she said.