Flickerfest 2025 Awards announced – And the Winners Are!

26th January 2025

The 34th FLiCKERFEST Award Winners Announced!

After a highly successful 10 day festival at Bondi the 34th annual FLiCKERFEST International and Australian awards were announced this evening at a star-studded ceremony at Bondi Beach.

Attended by celebrated guests from the Australian film industry, filmmakers and jury, the Closing Night ceremony honoured the esteemed entrants in this year’s competition and FLiCKERFEST’s Academy® Qualifying Awards, including the Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film, Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animation, Panasonic LUMIX Award for Best Australian Short Film & Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary.

The Flickerfest Short Film Awards continue to cement the festival’s global position as a leading International Short film festival on the world stage.

FLiCKERFEST’s Festival Director BRONWYN KIDD has said: “We are thrilled that the 34th Flickerfest 2025 has been such a success, with many filmmakers present to introduce their films, passionate crowds and great enthusiasm expressed for the programmes screened. It’s been great to see short films so warmly embraced by audiences across our ten-day event. I would like to congratulate all of the films selected for Flickerfest in competition this year, our jury for their dedication and all of tonight’s award winners.” Flickerfest will now hit the road on a 40+ venue national tour to all states and territories across Australia.


INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS

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

Winner: Beautiful Men
Writer/Director: Nicolas Keppens
Producer: Emmanuel Alain Raynal
Runtime: 19min
Country: Belgium
Three balding brothers travel to Istanbul to get a hair transplant. Stuck with each other in a hotel far from home, their insecurities grow faster than their hair.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Highly Commended International Animation

Winner: Maybe Elephants
Dir/Wri. Torill Kove
Prod. Lise Fernley, Maral Mohammadian, Tonje Skar Reiersen

EU in Australia Award for Best EU Short Film

Winner: The Boy With White Skin
Writer/Director: Simon Panay
Producer: Rafael Andrea Soatto, Laëtitia Denis, Kévin Rousseau, Souleymane Kébé, Maud Leclair-Névé
Runtime: 14min
Country: France, Senegal
Entrusted by his father to a group of gold-miners, an albino child embodies all of their hopes.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Flickerfest Special Jury Award For International Short Film

Winner: Ebb and Flow
Director/Writer: Nay Tabbara
Producer: Isabelle Mecattaf
Runtime: 18min
Country: Lebanon
Determined to have her first kiss, Loulwa defies her tumultuous world in search of normalcy. As she braves the streets of Beirut in pursuit of her sexual awakening, she finds herself taking an instant leap into adulthood when her world erupts into a redefined “normal”.
AUSTRALIAN  PREMIERE

Special Mentions of the Jury for International Short Film

Winner: A Summer’s End Poem 
Director/Writer/Producer: Lam Can-zhao
Writer: Yupeng He, Shutong Xu
Shortly before the end of the summer holidays, a country boy spends his savings on his dream of a city hairstyle – with surprising results. A story about bidding farewell to childhood and the poetic end of a summer.

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

Winner: Recomposing Earth
Director: Christian Cargill
Producer: Christian Cargill, John Bannister
Runtime: 28min
Country: UK
Under two feet of peaty soil in Orkney, lies the only recording of Scottish composer Erland Cooper’s unheard album. In an entirely unique attempt to collaborate with the natural world, it would be an experiment on patience, art and value. Will the tape emerge silent, and does it matter if it does? ‘Recomposing Earth’ takes you into the mind of an artist and the magic of the Orkney Islands that inspire him, with a story that reminds us of music’s importance as an expression of the human condition. With interviews including Paul Weller and Sir Ian Rankin.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Flickerfest Special Jury Award for Documentary Short Film

Winner: Nelson The Piglet
Director: Anneke de Lind van Wijngaarden
Producer: Nienke Rispens, Maarten Kuit, Jeroen van den Idsert
Runtime: 15min
Country: Netherlands
The Verbeek family, consisting of two mothers with their two sons, adopted a mini pig as a pet seven years ago. However, when the pig miraculously grows into a 500-kilo beast, the neat neighbourhood, the police and housing revolt. The classmates of their son Brandon don’t like it either, because such a big and dirty pig in the house is unacceptable, isn’t it? Brandon begins to have doubts…but eventually takes action with his family.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Azure Productions Award for Best Rainbow Short

Winner: Holy Curse
Writer/Director: Snigdha Kapoor
Producer: Neeraj Churi
Runtime: 16min
Country: USA
On a visit to India, 11-year-old Radha grapples with their gender identity when subjected to manipulative orthodox rituals by their family, looking to dispel a supposed ancestral curse allegedly distorting Radha’s thinking.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Special Mentions of the Jury for Rainbow Short Film
Winner: Dragfox
Director: Lisa Ott 
Producer: Owen Thomas
Sam’s search for identity gets interrupted by a mysterious neighbourhood fox. Together they embark on a magical journey to the attic to discover the surprising things they might have in common, and how to celebrate the ways in which they differ.

EU In Australia Award for Best EU Rainbow Short Film

Winner: Chico
Writer/Director: Theo Abadie
Writer: Louise Courvoisier
Producer: Pauline Attal
Country: France
Jojo, a clumsy and bumbling young gay squatter, sets out to repair a washing machine in order to satisfy Lucien, whom he desires. He roams Brussels in a frantic quest, ready to take any risk to achieve his goals.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS

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

Winner: Marcia And The Shark
Writer/Director: Sam Ferris Bryant
Writer/Producer: Hugo O’Connor
Runtime: 16min
Following a shark attack, Marcia comes back to life with something wild inside her, testing her doting fiancee Frank as they take to the road in his mustang. Based on the true story of Sydney Harbour’s last fatal shark attack in 1963.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Spectrum Films Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film

Winner: A Thousand Odd Days
Director: Riley Blakeway
Producer: Sarah Nichols
Runtime: 14min
A young man reflects on a day spent with his estranged mother, in an attempt to understand her enduring trauma and its effect on their relationship.
NSW PREMIERE

Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animation

Winner: The Fix-It-Man And The Fix-It-Wooman
Director: Cornelius Ebatarinja, Nelson Armstrong
Writer: Rhonda Sharpe, Courtney Collins
Producer: Sophie Wallace
Runtime: 9min
In the “bright lights, big city of Alice Springs”, two soft sculptures try to impress each other with their dance moves. But it’s an unfortunate accident that finally brings them together as they discover they both have a talent for fixing things. Artwork by the Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, renowned for their beautiful soft sculptures, comes alive in this gentle funny tale of love and connection.
NSW PREMIERE

Highly Commended International Animation
Winner: Maybe Elephants
Director/Writer: Torill Kove
Producer: Lise Fernley, Maral Mohammadian, Tonje Skar Reiersen
Three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves in Nairobi. What could possibly go wrong?

AFTRS Award for Best Screenplay in an Australian Short Film

Winner: Rash
Director/Writer: Claudia Osborne
Producer: Imogen Gardam, Amy Powter
Runtime: 13min
Set over one afternoon, Rash follows two young brothers navigating the recent death of their mother. Unsettled by their father’s inability to cope with their grief, Quinn and Max embark on a tumultuous encounter with their new babysitter. Exploring the cataclysmic disruption and instability of early experiences of grief, Rash is an unnerving yet tender portrait of two children struggling with an unthinkable loss and the unwitting outsider inadvertently caught in the crossfire.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

John Barry Sales Award for Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film

Winner: A Good Boy
Cinematographer: Jason De Ford, Victor Ng
Runtime: 14min
‘A Good Boy’ is a poignant coming-of-age short film told through the perspective of Michael, who harbors a dark, shameful secret that threatens his budding relationship with Aisha. The film examines the burden of childhood trauma & the transformative power of healing through friendship.
WORLD PREMIERE

Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Short Film

Winner: Not Yet
Editor: Samuel Inglis
Runtime: 14min
Sisters Emily and Nina grit their teeth through their mother Josephine’s extravagant engagement party. When Josephine’s new partner Gill lets slip that they’re selling the family home, the two young women rebel, jeopardising Josephine’s standing in Gill’s family. Tensions come to a head and Emily is forced to confront the truth of what is really happening at this party.
WORLD PREMIERE

Avid Award for Best Original Music in an Australian Short Film

Winner: Asian Male, 60s, Lead
Composer: Josh Barber
Runtime: 15min
63-year-old Filipino-Australian actor Alex Montes is given 48 hours to prepare for the biggest opportunity of his life. But his scattered enthusiasm takes over and the rest of his life falls apart.
WORLD PREMIERE

Specsavers Award for Best Australian Comedy Short Film

Winner: Over
Director/Writer: Duncan Ragg, Anna Phillips
Producer: Isabella Debbage
Runtime: 18min
A father must confront his apathy towards the world’s big issues when his disabled son, who is terrified of open water, steals his boat and refuses to come back to shore until his Dad has saved the world.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Rebel 8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director

Winner: Oi
Director: Sophie Serisier
Runtime: 16min
When a turbulent teenage girl undergoes a traumatic sexual experience, she must face her own violent bravado head-on. Oi explores the stigma around “catfights” and how hyper-sexuality can occur when feminine rage isn’t accepted and queerness is ignored.
NSW PREMIERE

Highly Commended Female Director

Winner: Rash
Director: Claudia Osborne
Set over one afternoon, Rash follows two young brothers navigating the recent death of their mother. Unsettled by their father’s inability to cope with their grief, Quinn and Max embark on a tumultuous encounter with their new babysitter. Exploring the cataclysmic disruption and instability of early experiences of grief, Rash is an unnerving yet tender portrait of two children struggling with an unthinkable loss and the unwitting outsider inadvertently caught in the crossfire.

FLiCKERUP YOUTH COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS

AFTRS FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Short Film

Winner: Bubblegum and Bunyips
Director/Writer: Kellyville High School
Producer: Fabio Caprarelli
Runtime: 7min
The sound of bubblegum popping reminds an Indigenous woman of her childhood.

Yoram Gross FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Animated Short Film

Winner: The Apartment
Director/Writer: Y7 Doveton College Students
Producer: Gene Geoffrey
Runtime: 4min
We meet three intriguing characters whose lives are entwined through social media.

Avid FlickerUp Award for Best Editing in A Youth Short Film

Winner: Mind The Gaps
Director/Writer: Lucia Carman Murray
Runtime: 7min
My whole life my dad always had a camera in my face.  Now, over a decade later, I turned around the camera to ask my dad about life, father.

Karma Drinks Beverages FlickerUp Jury Award for Youth Short Film

Winner: More Than Milk
Writer/Director/Producer: Abigail Rain Knight
Runtime: 5min
Delving into the transformative power of The Cow Project, as told through the voices of the women experiencing poverty, malnutrition, and inequality in India.


A Huge Thanks To Our 2025 Partners

Thank you to all our fabulous Flickerfest partners, the festival wouldn’t have been possible without you! Our major partners of this year’s festival are Screen AustraliaScreen NSWWaverley CouncilEuropean Union Delegation to AustraliaAFTRS, and Specsavers.
Our Supporting Partners: AFTRSOrgan & Tissue Donors NSW
Our Awards Partners: Panasonic, Spectrum Films, Yoram Gross FilmsEuropean Union Delegation to AustraliaAFTRSAvidJohn Barry Sales, Rebel8, Specsavers, Azure.
Our Media Partners: City HubStar ObserverThe MonthlyThe Saturday Paper7amConcrete PlaygroundFilmInkFBi Radio2SER 107.3fm
Beverage Partners: Gage Roads Brew coMatso’sBondi LiquorRosnay OrganicKarma Drinks
Accommodation Partners: Adina TFE Hotels
Official Technical Partner: Loud and ClearJJ Splice

Categories: News, Press Releases Tags: