The 4th 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: Sun 21 Jan, 9pm | Runtime: 120 mins | Classification: under 15 to be w/adult
Two parents face an impossible choice when their family camping trip turns deadly.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
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1979. As volatile protests for Croatian independence break out across the city of Sydney, Croatian born Marina is forced to expose a secretive love affair with her Australian boyfriend, as escalating political violence spills into her childhood home with devastating consequences.
WORLD PREMIERE
Yeah the Boys follows six young Aussie men as they sink beers over an afternoon and well into the night. Emoting only through movement; lewd gestures, chokeholds, crowd surfs, and chugging shoeys, they somehow say everything without uttering a single word. Equal parts larrikin, brutal, and tender, this choreographic short film scored by The Avalanches is an observation of Australian masculine identity and our nation’s relationship with drinking culture.
WORLD PREMIERE
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A young couple’s baby monitor reveals a stranger watching their infant sleep…
NSW PREMIERE
11 year-old, Olivia, lives in a small, seaside town with her father. Olivia endures misogynistic behaviour from the boys and men in her town; she’s told to smile, she’s followed, she’s physically assaulted. Dealing with the situation with silence and reservation, Olivia retreats into her own world. Olivia finds solace in an old picture book; set against the roaring ocean waves a group of sirens fight back against their captors. A series of strange happenings lead her back to the ocean. When she follows a woman into the depths, Olivia engages with the power and irreverence of the sirens of the sea. Later, when verbally assaulted by a group of teenage boys in a car, Olivia expresses her rage. She takes the power she hasn’t been afforded.
WORLD PREMIERE
Set in Alice Springs, Ted, a reclusive and bitter retiree is tasked with caring for his Pakistani neighbour’s 8-year-old daughter, Saleha. After attempts to limit his engagement with Saleha, Ted’s defences are broken down as he realises the two share a mutual love of cricket. Thus begins the blossoming of an unlikely friendship.
NSW PREMIERE
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Paired together by a matchmaker, a peasant girl and a loyal soldier ponder love, marriage and longing through the letters they write to each other from afar.
NSW PREMIERE
Take a Breath follows a young woman struggling to find meaning in her life, exploring the significance of opening up and being true to yourself.
NSW PREMIERE
A young girl discovers a magical cloud that may hold the key to mending her father’s broken heart.
NSW PREMIERE
When a brash young man is challenged to prove his worth, his blindness to the truth causes him to get more than he bargained for…
WORLD PREMIERE