BLUSSH Romance Festival is the loving brainchild of uber film producer extraordinaire Kylie Pascoe and heavy culture consumer Sue-Anne Chapman.
With a strong desire to bring together their loves of films and books under one festival umbrella, they hope, through the romance lens, to deliver a carefully curated program of stories and events for the citizens of south east Queensland.
Join the lovers, the dreamers, the storytellers, and the romance enthusiasts at the BLUSSH Romance Festival – Brisbane’s newest festival celebrating films and literature through a romance lens and the first of its kind in Australia. From 22-25 February 2024, the pink carpet will be rolled out to welcome all of Brisbane with a series of book and film events celebrating romance in all its shades.
BLUSSH Romance Festival Director, Sue-Anne Chapman said, “More romance films are being made, and romance books being written, in Brisbane than anywhere else in Australia. And this is how BLUSSH ROMANCE FESTIVAL was born – a super fun event to showcase these wonderful stories and provide audiences with an opportunity to come together with like-minded romance film and book enthusiasts”.
Last night, on the appropriately coloured pink carpet, the Angelika Film Centre in Brisbane’s Woolloongabba played host to the opening event, with the Australian premiere of One Perfect Match, a Brisbane-filmed romantic comedy, produced by the kings and queens of romance, Jaggi Entertainment, about a professional matchmaker who breaks the cardinal rule of her industry and falls head over heels for her latest client.
There to help celebrate the film’s launch, Peter Gray spoke with director Jo-Anne Brechin, star Lynn Gilmartin and producer Steve Jaggi about their favourite rom-coms, why Brisbane was the perfect filming location, and what’s that one element of One Perfect Match that celebrates romance the most.
With the Blussh Romance Festival celebrating all things romance, what is the one element of One Perfect Match that you think really celebrates romance?
Jo-Anne Brechin: I mean, it’s the quintessential love story, right? She’s (Lucy Marks, the main character) a matchmaker that falls in love with her client. It’s like forbidden love, you know? It’s Romeo and Juliet. It’s a classic love story!
Lynn Gilmartin: I think it’s about facing what’s right in front of you. Sometimes we’re too afraid to do that! I mean, without giving too much away!
What was it about Brisbane that made it the perfect place to make One Perfect Match?
Steve Jaggi: I think that we’ve (Jaggi Entertainment) been so incredibly fortunate to have found collaborators in terms of filmmakers, directors, and writers who are so gifted in the genre. Brisbane is one of the best places in the world to make these sorts of movies. The weather, the actors available to us! The love that people who live in South East Queensland have for this genre!
It’s no coincidence that, to the best of my knowledge, that Queensland has the highest proportion of romance novelists per capita in Australia! I think it’s also no coincidence that we also have so many great filmmakers that do this genre so well, and so many actors that do drama really well! So, I can’t take any credit for it. All I’m doing it taking these pieces and weaving them together!
Jo-Anne Brechin: I moved here about a year and a half ago from Sydney, and I was so impressed, you know. Just the diversity of locations within like an arm’s reach of the CBD! Everything in Sydney, you got to travel two to three hours to get anywhere interesting. I think Brisbane also produces a sort of friendly and inviting—everybody’s so warm and welcoming when you’re shooting a film!
Is there a romantic comedy that you personally look at as the pinnacle of the genre?
Lynn Gilmartin: Oh my god! There’s just so many! They’re all amazing. I mean, it’s not a rom-com, but there’s romance. Dirty Dancing. I grew up on that. That’s my favourite romance movie of all time.
Steve Jaggie: It’s not going to be what you think, because I have very different tastes to the brand and the company! I’m gonna go with The Spanish Apartment. And Before Midnight.
Jo-Anne Brechin: Look, I mean I’m a bit of a 90s rom-com lady! Anything with Sandra Bullock! I love One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney. It’s so beautiful. I love that film!
With One Fine Day being a 90s romance, how do you feel romance on screen has evolved over the last 30-odd years?
Jo-Anne Brechin: I’d like to say it’s gotten better. I love the rom-coms of the 80s and 90s, but I think recently there’s been a rom-com renaissance. I like to think they’re getting better and better.
And Lynn, you’ve done so much work with World Poker Series, so I’m curious to find out what the biggest gamble you’ve ever taken on your career was that ended up paying off?
Lynn Gilmartin: Oh, I love that question! When I quit my corporate career to chase a dream. There was so much unknown and so much risk involved, but it was just something that lit me up and made me feel so excited! And it wasn’t the safe path. It was the exciting one that really just felt like it will mean a lot to me, and it’ll just make me come alive!
So, I quit my corporate career to go make videos for the internet back in 2009. When it wasn’t that cool to basically make videos for YouTube. I hopped on a flight to Vegas, and I really knew nothing about poker at all. I bluffed my way through it! And I’m still reaping the rewards from that huge risk I took. I’m always a big advocate for not taking the safe path. Take the one that lights you up!
Steve, it’s interesting seeing the success of Anyone But You at the box office, and audiences feel like rom-com has made some sort of resurgence. But I would assume that with the success of your films, it hasn’t feel like the romance genre has gone away at all.
Steve Jaggi: I think there’s a confluence of factors happening at the same time. In terms of audience demand for this sort of movie, it’s been there forever. In the US, there’s Hallmark Channel. But what happened, it’s a soap opera audience. Now that’s a big audience, but it’s not teenagers, effectively. These sorts of movies are fuelling streaming. The audience is there, and they’re hungry for content.
This film is really great. It’s more kinetic and comedic. This film is a bit more modern in terms of cameras flying around. You know, Jo-Anne is really great at brining the kinetic energy, which historically, you haven’t seen much in this genre. The powers that be thought all these movies were daytime TV movies, so we should shoot them like daytime TV movies. You’ll see that this is not a TV movie. The cameras are flying around, and it’s funny, and it’s different.
For more information about BLUSSH Romance Festival, head to the official site for details on their conversation and film events.
