The ``Unique Stories'' film festival, organised by Tourism Waitaki and featuring three-minute films, will be coupled with a gala evening and art auction as the second major community fundraising effort for the planned $6 million Forrester Gallery redevelopment.
A long lunch in Harbour St in April raised $14,000.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said as well as youth, open amateur and open professional categories, all district schools were encouraged to enter to foster the concept ``storytelling is an important mechanism for passing history and cultural heritage on to future generations''.
At Kakanui School, principal Ann Roughan wrote a script and all 16 of the year 5 to year 8 class got involved last week filming their entry ``Welcome to Our World! - or is it the Vanishing World?''
Pupil Ella Nelson called it ``quite a cool name'' for the film.
``It's kind of about how it's all disappearing.''
She said the film noted that there used to be three churches in Kakanui, but only one remained. The area's coast had also changed over the years.
Council community services manager Thunes Cloete said the Cultural Facility Advisory Committee hoped to raise $50,000.
Ongoing fundraising efforts, which included securing a name on the new facility's legacy wall, or ``adopting'' an item in the planned combined gallery, museum and archive, were aimed at ``getting the community on board'' with the project.
The redevelopment of the lower Thames St 1882 Heritage New Zealand category 1 registered site has drawn $1.7million from external funders so far, and the council has set aside $1.9 million for the project.
Emmy Award-winning Natural History New Zealand producer Ian McGee will choose the finalists for the September 8 screening, a council statement says.
