Audi Announces Major Film Sponsorship with Gala Event at Sydney Film Festival

SYDNEY – June 8, 2012: Audi Australia has kicked off a major new sponsorship of the Australian film industry with a gala cocktail event in Sydney at the 59th Sydney Film Festival, followed by the Australian premiere screening of Wes Andersen’s acclaimed Moonrise Kingdom.

The German luxury carmaker launched its new film sponsorship strategy for 2012 and beyond, which incorporates all three major Australian Film Festivals, including the Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival and the Brisbane International Film Festival.

Audi has also been the naming sponsor of the Audi Festival of German Films in Australia for five years.

The Sydney Film Festival showcases over 150 Australian and internationally acclaimed films from around the world. More than 120,000 people visit the festival over its 12 day schedule and the appeal of such a well-supported cultural and community-based platform gave Audi the ideal opportunity to further its involvement in the film industry.

“Audi has supported the Sydney Film Festival with red carpet vehicles since 2008, however this year marks the first year of our new major partner status. The community support is excellent. It’s a festival that really brings people together in the city of Sydney,” Audi Australia’s Managing Director, Uwe Hagen said.

“For our customers, film is high on the list of leisure activities. It can be intelligent and engaging, can challenge, provoke or educate, or simply provide fantastic escapism – in it’s many forms, film is diverse and entertaining – and generally a great addition to our cultural sponsoring strategy,” Mr Hagen added.

Following the gala announcement of Audi’s sponsorship on Friday 8 June 2012, guests will have the chance to see the much-talked about film by director Wes Andersen, Moonrise Kingdom. Following it’s screening at the Cannes Film Festival this year, Moonrise Kingdom received critical acclaim, and will now enjoy its Australian premiere tonight.

The 59th Sydney Film Festival runs from 6-17 June, featuring a stellar line up of Australian and international guests at this year's event. The prestigious list of guests includes over150 film-makers from22 countries, who have won over45 International awards between them, including four Academy Awards®, four Sundance Awards® and three Logie Awards®.

Audi’s sponsorship of the Melbourne International Film Festival kicks off with the opening night premiere of The Sapphires on 2 August 2012, and the Brisbane Film Festival makes its premiere on 14 November 2012.

The Audi brand has been involved in the film industry for many years – from the early days of the old-school, edge-of-the-seat car chases like the legendary Ronin, to Mission Impossible, the Transporter films, I Robot, About a Boy and even Iron Man.