Best Of Australian Shorts 5 – 2026
The 5th of seven programmes featuring the best of Australian short films in competition.
Our home-grown talent battle it out for the prestigious Academy® qualifying award for Best Australian Short Film.
Screening: Mon 26 Jan, 9pm | Runtime: 114 mins | Classification: under 15 to be w/adult
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Run Koala Run
Run Koala Run explores a day in the life of Rusty, a beloved hand-drawn koala, who suddenly finds his cartoon world rewritten by an unseen ‘animator’. As the lines around him bend, blur, and break, Rusty runs through shifting frames in the performance of a lifetime. A fast, funny, and unsettling chase through the blurred lines between algorithm, and art.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 7min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Without White Clovers
A young man fears for his older brother’s life after he randomly texts him that he loves him.
NSW PREMIERE- Runtime: 8min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Tuesday Tuesday
A support worker spends one final shift with her client living with younger-onset dementia and must face the complicated feelings that come with letting him go.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 15min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Safe Hands
When the mother of a six-year-old girl goes missing, her babysitter suspects the father of foul play and is forced to take matters into her own hands.
NSW PREMIERE- Runtime: 12min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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E-Mum
Emma, a lonely woman, receives an AI child from her estranged mother. As their fragile bond grows, she must face the blurred line between real love and programmed affection. E-Mum is a haunting exploration of love, longing, and the silent heartbreak of loving something that cannot love you back.
NSW PREMIERE- Runtime: 15min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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A Moment
During a romantic dinner, a man gives his partner a mysterious sundial necklace, only to find himself trapped in a collapsing time loop where one fleeting moment threatens to last forever.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 6min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Cracked
To prove that he’s recovering from his ice addiction, Elliot has one chance to make his estranged niece’s birthday unforgettable.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 13min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Fifteen
On her fifteenth birthday, a timid teen discovers her father in a deeply compromising position.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 14min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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The Stress Tester
Jess interviews Mike, a man paid to infiltrate and ‘stress test’ new relationships, pushing couples to their emotional limits under the guise of truth.
As the dynamic shifts, Jess is drawn into a confrontation not only with Mike’s methods, but with the broader implications of manipulation, consent, and the quiet harms that often go unnoticed. A tense and quietly probing exploration of control, intimacy, and the blurred boundaries between personal history and professional intent.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 11min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Baby Shower
Heidi’s baby shower descends into chaos when her estranged father crashes the party.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 13min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia