Best Of International Shorts 3 – 2026
The 3rd of five programmes featuring the Best of International short films in competition.
Be uplifted, inspired and moved by the next generation of the world’s most talented filmmakers in competition for two Academy® qualifying awards; Best Short Live Action & Best Short Animation.
Screening: Tues 27 Jan, 6.30pm | Runtime: 114 mins | Classification: under 15 to be w/adult
-
Murmuration
An elderly man realises he’s suddenly turning into a bird.
NSW PREMIERE- Runtime: 13min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Netherlands
-
Chasing Kites
As their flat turns into a sea of paper kites, a young teenager faces the impossible challenge of being there for his younger brother without losing parts of himself.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 8min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Germany
-
Sundown
Nora, a talented 25-year-old dancer, is about to lose her sight. As she finds it increasingly difficult to move in space, Nora comes across a group of visually impaired athletes who confront her with her new reality.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 18min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Belgium
-
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
A haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 17min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Canada
-
Baadarane
A young boy from Mount Lebanon grapples with his mother’s sudden death, questioning the foundation of his faith and whether God punishes or saves people in this modern spin on the myth of Prometheus, through the eyes of an eight-year-old Druz child from Baadarane.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 15min
- Year: 2025
- Country: Lebanon
-
Chicken
Set against suburban South Africa, twin brothers Peter and Paul grapple with identity, belonging, and silent expectations at an elite boys’ school — until one’s reckless bid for acceptance triggers a rupture with devastating, irreversible consequences for them both.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 15min
- Year: 2025
- Country: South Africa, US
-
Katti (Unfriend)
In a vibrant, multi-generational Indian household, 8-year-old Bittoo finds herself sidelined after the birth of her baby brother. A tender, unsettling portrait of girlhood, sibling bonds, and the first sting of systemic gender bias. It explores how children absorb silence, how they internalize worth, and how, despite everything, they still reach for love.
WORLD PREMIERE- Runtime: 14min
- Year: 2025
- Country: India, US
-
Carcassone-Acapulco
As flight 7836 reaches cruising speed above the Atlantic Ocean, the pilot, co-pilot and flight attendant are startled by an unexpected knock at the door! Chaos and confusion ensue as the crew enter a long and meandering debate regarding the stranger’s fate: should they open the door, or not?
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE- Runtime: 14min
- Year: 2025
- Country: France