Call for Entries 2027

FLiCKERFEST 36th International Short Film Festival
Friday 22 – Sunday 31 Jan 2027
Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

Flickerfest is an Academy® Award Qualifying and BAFTA Qualifying festival.

FLiCKERFEST, Australia’s premier international short film festival, will be held at the Bondi Pavilion on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach in January 2027. The Festival in 2027 will celebrate 36 years of screening the best short films from Australia and around the world in competitions and special showcases. Following the Festival in Sydney, a selection of films will go on tour to 40+ capital cities and regional centres around Australia.

FLiCKERFEST 2027 Entries

FLiCKERFEST 2027 Official entries for our International, Australian & Documentary (Academy Award® & BAFTA Qualifying) competitions are Now Open!

To submit your film you acknowledge & MUST fulfill the Eligibility Criteria & abide by the Terms & Conditions. *See below for Eligibility Criteria and T&C’s.

The 2027 Festival will include the following competitions:

International, Australian & Documentary (Academy Award® & BAFTA Qualifying) Competitions are Now Open.

International competition: Open to films from anywhere in the world (outside of Australia); under 35mins, completed in the last 2 years.

Australian competition: Open to films made in Australia or by Australian residents; under 35mins, completed in the last 2 years.

Documentary competition: Open to Australian & International short documentaries; under 35mins, completed in the last 2 years.

FlickerUp Youth Competition

FlickerUp competition: Australian National Youth Competition – open to films from students enrolled in secondary schools in Australia, & individuals 18 and under. Films to be under 35mins, completed in the last 2 years.

Specsavers TVC Competition

Specsavers TVC competition: Open to Australian residents only; entrants need to include: a completed 30 second ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ TVC with a supplied branded end frame and must follow the Creative Brief and T&Cs (Coming Soon!).

Please email: [email protected] with any enquiries.

We can’t wait to announce our Flickerfest 2027 programme in December 2026 for our Academy Award® and BAFTA Qualifying festival.

2027 is promising to be a bumper programme with FLiCKERFEST celebrating our 36th year of screening the best short films from Australia and around the world, across 10 days & nights of our competition and special showcase programmes once again on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach.

Join us on the red carpet in Bondi next January!

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Flickerfest Award for Best Short Film (Academy Award® Qualifying)

Flickerfest Special Jury Award

Yoram Gross Award for Best Short Animation (Academy Award® Qualifying)

Flickerfest Award for Best Short Documentary (Academy Award® Qualifying)

Azure Productions Award for Best Rainbow LGBTQi Short Film

AUSTRALIAN AWARDS

LUMIX Award for Best Australian Short Film (Academy Award® Qualifying)

Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animation

Spectrum Films Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film

AFTRS Award for Best Screenplay in an Australian Short Film

John Barry Award for Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film

Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Short Film

Avid Award For Best Original Music In An Australian Short Film

Rebel8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director

Specsavers Award for Best Australian Comedy Short Film

FLiCKERUP AWARDS

AFTRS Award for Best Australian Youth Short Film

Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Youth Animation

Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Youth Short Film

Karma Drinks Award Special Mention for Youth Short Film

Industry and cash prizes will be awarded in the above categories to approx $30,000 AUD in value.

SPECSAVERS TVC COMPETITION PRIZE

Win up to $70k of a $150k prize pool and screen your “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” TVC at Flickerfest 2027.

*ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA and TERMS & CONDITIONS

To submit your film you MUST fulfill the Eligibility Criteria & abide by the Terms & Conditions (below).

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for Flickerfest competitions all shorts must be no more than 35 minutes in length.
All productions screened at Flickerfest 2027 must have been completed within 2 years of the entry closing date and must be in English or have English subtitles.
All selected films must be available to screen on H.264 or ProRes file.
DUE TO THE COMPETITIVE NATURE OF FLiCKERFEST, WE REQUIRE AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION FILMS TO BE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERES, (with exception of other Academy Award® Qualifying Australian festivals).
WE REQUIRE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FILMS TO BE AUSTRALIAN PREMIERES, (with exception of other Academy Award® Qualifying Australian festivals).
FOR ALL COMPETITIONS WE REQUIRE FILMS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN BROADCAST IN AUSTRALIA OR MADE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET.
Note: The programming team may consider an exception to the above rules at their discretion.

Films submitted for the FlickerUp National Youth Competition do not have to adhere to the premiere guidelines.

For any questions regarding entries or eligibility, please email [email protected]

HOW TO ENTER YOUR FILM

SUBMIT YOUR FILM ONLINE
FLiCKERFEST 2027 Entries!

FLiCKERFEST 2027 Official Entries are Now Open!

You can submit to Flickerfest through FilmFreeway button below.
Film institutes & schools with multiple entries may contact the festival office on [email protected] for a multiple entry discount code & instructions.

Enter via FILMFREEWAY
‘Flickerfest International Short Film Festival proudly accepts entries via FilmFreeway.com the world’s best online submission platform. FilmFreeway offers free HD online screeners, unlimited video storage, digital press kits, & more.’

Note: Flickerfest receives a large volume of enquiries regarding fee waivers.
As much as Flickerfest would like to give films a waiver, we cannot do so unless the circumstances are exceptional. Our entry fees go towards covering prizes for our Academy Award® and BAFTA Qualifying competition winners, accreditation and accommodation for selected filmmakers who attend the festival and general festival operation costs.

International, Australian & Documentary competitions Entry Deadlines & Fees
Early Bird Entries deadline: Friday 14th August 2026 – Entry Fee: USD $35.00 per film
Regular Entries deadline: Monday 14th September 2026 – Entry Fee: USD $40.00 per film
Late Entries deadline: Wednesday 14th October 2026 – Entry Fee: USD $45.00 per film
FlickerUp Youth competition Deadline & Fee
FlickerUp deadline: Monday 23th Nov 2026 – Entry Fee: USD $17.00 per film

Specsavers TVC competition Open & Close Dates
Specsavers TVC Competition: Open – Wednesday 8th July | Close – Wednesday 18th November 2026, 4pm AEDT – free entry. (Specsavers TVC competition Terms & Conditions – Coming Soon.)

*Please contact [email protected] regarding a discount for multiple submissions

FLiCKERFEST COMPETITIONS TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Film Selection

If your film is selected for competition or an out-of-competition showcase, you will be advised by Wednesday 9th December, where possible.
We will then require all successful entries to Flickerfest 2027 complete an acceptance form to be emailed back to us, and arrangements made for files to arrive at the festival before the 16th December 2026.

Selected Films

Flickerfest expects selected filmmakers to provide a digital file for screening quality as either a H.264 or ProRes 422 file. Australian filmmakers are required to send files on hard drive or USB sticks.
International filmmakers will be need to provide an electronic delivery or download link for their film.

Flickerfest Australian Tour

Following the festival, a selection of films screened in the International and Australian competitions plus some in out-of-competition programmes will be toured around Australia. If your film is unable to tour it remains eligible for competition. All touring films will be paid screening royalties.

Filmmakers and Guests

Unfortunately we are unable to assist all filmmakers with their travel to or within Australia. However we will assist with full festival accreditation & accommodation for all international guests and warmly welcome filmmakers who are able to attend the Festival or National Tour.

Rights Granted By The Producer

The Producer grants Flickerfest the right to reproduce part of their film (maximum 1 min) for the purposes only of promoting the festival. This may be as part of a compilation; for exhibition by any means including theatrical screening, internet; for cable, satellite, microwave or by any medium not yet devised.

*NOTE: ENTERING A FILM IN FLiCKERFEST CONFIRMS YOU ACCEPT OUR ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS and T&C’s!

Enquiries: [email protected]

Phone: +61 (0)455 037 441

The Flickerfest Awards are Academy Awards® accredited. The 2026 winners of the Best International Short Film, Best Australian Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film and Best International Animation Short Film awards are eligible to submit their films for the 99th Academy Awards® in 2027. (More information here.)

The Flickerfest Shorts programme is also BAFTA Qualifying. Any British film programmed for the 2026 festival is eligible for entry in the British Short Film and British Short Animation categories of the 2027 BAFTA Film Awards. (More information here.)

(please email [email protected] with any enquiries)