During the days when the Workshop Arts Centre was still situated in an old bakery building near Chatswood station, two of its members, Vi and Laurie Collings, would organise occasional film screenings at the Willoughby Town Hall. These screenings were so successful that they quickly realised a permanent film group would be a viable option. Laurie, a filmmaker himself, had filmed one of Joy Ewart’s children’s art classes at Dalton Street Studios for a film entitled Youth Creates.
The first formal meeting of the Workshop Film Group was held on the 23rd of August 1968, making it the second oldest film society in NSW. For the past 36 years, the group has screened in Studio One on the first and third Fridays of each month – happily, with founder member Vi Collings often still in attendance.
The group is dedicated to increasing an awareness and appreciation of the seventh art by presenting a wide variety of documentaries, shorts and features.
Presentations begin at 8pm with an introduction to the film – the screenings themselves are followed by light refreshments and an often lively discussion.
Since 1975, the group has also organised a residential film event each year during the October long weekend.
The Filmgroup’s 30th Residential Film Weekend was held at the Metropole Guesthouse in Katoomba..
