Best Of Australian Shorts 3 – 2026
The 3rd 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: Sat 24 Jan, 9pm | Runtime: 110 mins | Classification: under 15 to be w/adult
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Trap
An experimental cartoon where the rectangular film Frame has no role at all. Each shot is its own Frame, played out all in black. TRAP is a story of murder and revenge, with its characters – man and mouse – caught in different traps, but always animated in black: a true film noir with no escape.
NSW PREMIERE- Runtime: 4min
- Year: 2024
- Country: Australia
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Daddy’s Little Meatball
On a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York, an Australian period underwear salesman and his teenage daughter navigate the city and their strained relationship.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 14min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Bubba
A woman wants to escape from her abusive relationship at any cost, except if it means leaving her pet dog behind.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 13min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Shelly
When widowed fisherman Keith Herring hauls in an unexpected catch, his lonely life unravels – a gripping tale of grief and isolation where devotion curdles into delusion, and love from the deep tests the very limits of morality.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 12min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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DIY
DIY follows Alex, a young woman grieving the death of a beloved pet, as she decides to hang a new frame on her apartment wall. But when she drills into the plaster… blood spills from the resulting hole?!
- Runtime: 12min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Just Kids
Years after his involvement in a cruel teenage prank, Logan (Eddie Baroo) encounters a lost teen on the roadside..
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 6min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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For My Mother
On the way to an important school recital, a mother and son get into a volatile argument that unveils the vast space between them.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 16min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Flotsam
Katie struggles to raise her little sister, Alannah, after the death of their parents. When her best friend Andrew pushes her to define their relationship, Katie must examine the consequences of her grief.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 15min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia
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Solo Un Poco Aqui
In a world where every day could be your last, Theo, a young survivor, still grapples with the loss of his little brother. When Lucía, a resilient Hispanic woman, insists on joining him for the solemn ritual of burning her friend’s body, Theo reluctantly steps out of his isolated routine. As they journey through the desolate Australian bush, they realize that forging human connections may be their last hope in the midst of desolation.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 18min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Australia