HEart of Gold International Short Film Festival is catching the national eye and showcasing Gympie's success in fostering a world-class film festival.

This year the festival will play host to 93 short films screening in Queensland for the very first time.

Amongst those are 50 Australian premieres and 10 world premieres that are eager to be watched by not only thousands that flock to Gympie to experience the four-day program, but also the incredible locals who are the stronghold of Gympie's cultural identity.

This year Heart of Gold celebrates its10th festival.

Year on year the success of the festival continues to grow, all thanks to the community audiences who have supported it since its inception.

Audiences that are showing that Gympie has a hunger for world class short films of every genre. It is apparent that Gympie is standing out as a regional cultural hub, alongside places like Toowoomba, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains.

To commemorate their milestone, as well as get amongst the 150th anniversary of finding gold in the region, discovery will be a major theme for this year's festival.

A team from Vivid Sydney will transform the Prospectors Hall into a gold mine installation, where punters can party at Opening Night and enjoy entertainment by world-renowned duo Hat Fitz and Cara. There is an Extras sidebar of masterclasses, workshops and Family Day.

Friday sees the return of Comedy Night with three sessions packed to the brim with shorts to get the weekend started. On Saturday, following international and Australian festival highlights, as well as the Queensland Premiere of Three Summers, there will be Birthday celebrations, where Michael Caton will be cutting the cake and all can cheer with gold speckled bubbles before heading into the awards ceremony to celebrate the winners.

Family Day turns the festival into a playground of offerings for everyone in the family - drop in drama workshops, animation sessions, family shorts and a session of short films made by young filmmakers across the country. There are also a lot of surprises to discover throughout the entire four days hidden around the Gympie Civic Centre for patrons with a key eye for detail.

This rich program and supportive community have created a festival that is punching well above its weight in the film industry, which can be seen as filmmakers travel interstate just to attend. In fact, over 30 filmmakers will be in attendance, along with the large out of town crowd who are coming to see one of the crown jewels of Australian short film festivals.

Part of it's success is through it's unique programming strategy, which sees the Artistic Director, Emily Avila hand pick films and then pass them onto screener groups who gather amongst lounge rooms across the region to select which films are most inspiring, heart-warming and thought-provoking.

"I've hand selected all the films in this program along with all the screener groups of which we grew this year; we had more screeners than ever. I can assure you that every film in this program has been selected because it has its own bit of Heart of Gold in it, it sparkles in the dark, it's got something in their that caught our eye", Avila said on the program launch night.

It's also special to have a town where a short film festival doesn't get lost amongst the overabundance of offerings that capital cities often have. This festival is one of the highlights of the year for the Gympie community, who come rushing through the doors to the Gympie Civic Centre every October, ready to absorb the films, the Q+As and get amongst debates and conversations about the varied program. 　　

150 years ago, Gympie famously saved Queensland from bankruptcy by discovering gold. 150 years on and Gympie is saving Queensland again, but this time it is for creating a short film festival that stands out worldwide. As Avila says, "There might not be any gold left, but we are trying to bring it back in the form of short film. It sparkles in the dark, you'll find a lot to love in here".

You can discover Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival at the Gympie Civic Centre, 5-8 October. For more information, to see the full program and to buy tickets, head to www.heartofgold.com.au