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Download the PDF festival guide for details on each film.

Prize Money and Voting

All registered viewers and filmmakers will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite film before the festival ends at 11:59pm on 20 February.

The Judge’s Award of $1,500 for best film will be voted on by participating filmmakers, who can vote for their favourite film, other than their own of course.

The Audience vote carries prize money of $1,000 for 1st prize, $750 for 2nd prize and $500 for 3rd prize.

Winners will be announced by 25 February 2021. Good luck to all!

Click here to vote for your favourite film.

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Film List

• 2 Tea and 4 Biscuit – Director S Kumaran (Singapore). A young boy becomes fascinated by a customer’s particular routine at the tea stall he frequents with his father. It is all about family and the comfort of food.
• A Stiff Brew – Director Andy Burkitt (Australia). Thanks to old Steve who has a certain amount of zest, these brewsters discover a winning formula for their beer.
• Avocalypse – Directors Scott Anderssen and Rowan Carroll (Australia). It had to come from Queensland, a delicious musical ode to the not-so-humble avocado. Let’s leave it at that.
• Baraka, The Cow – Director Komeil Soheili (Iran). A sweetly, sentimental portrait of an old man, his cow and the special relationship between them.
• Bread and Forgetfulness – Director Kaveh Azizi (Iran). A young girl faces unexpected problems when tasked with looking after an elderly man with Alzheimer’s.
• Breaking News (Student Film) – Director Dmitry Gorlov (Australia). Fake news, COVID 20 and death by flatulence. We are living in a Trumpian universe.
• Chicken – Director Kate Lefoe (Australia). Two best mates set out exploring the Australian bush on their bikes and discover more than just nature.
• Cop This – Director Jared Morgan (Australia). Nobody said being an actor was easy, but when you are working with a fascistic director, going deep into method acting might just do the trick.
• Daytime Soap – Director Chloe Smit (Australia). Mallory makes “non-conventional, art destruction, soap satisfaction videos,” but things go awry when her rivalry with competing blogger Bubble Trouble turns into a soap opera. Like literally. Almost.
• Director On Isolation – Director Alexander Popov (Russia). The director describes the film as a result of what happens “if you stay home in isolation too long, and, all you have is a gun and a brain full of ideas for a script.” We reckon that’s a pretty accurate description.
• Disconnected – Director Heidy Villafane (Australia). A pandemic lockdown can lead to an unexpected connection to inanimate objects.
• Dolphin – Director Em Baker (Australia). Alice’s friends Jonathan and Tina, are visiting Australia from the USA. They’re keen to be shown the ultimate Australian experience, but Alice’s crush on Tina puts a spin on things.
• Don Ron (Student Film) – Director Alex Lowes (Australia). It seems that no one is ready for Ron’s revolution in kale technology. His kale burgers aren’t selling. When Ron resorts to dastardly measures, he learns the meaning of integrity.
• Doof – Director Majid Desaghat Borji (Iran). A young boy living in a war zone is both terrified and empowered by what he thinks are the consequences of his imaginary game.
• Fear and Loathing in Self-Quarantine (Student Film) – Director Patrick Hill (Australia). Being stuck in quarantine has different effects on different people. This one is certainly different.
• Fire Extinguisher (Student Film) – Director Joan Rodrigo Sopeña (Spain). Milagros is obliged to install a fire extinguisher in the chapel she looks after. She isn’t sure it is necessary and seeks divine advice which proves providential.
• Five O’clock – Director James Di Martino (Australia). Set in an alternative history, the remaining members of the Kelly gang Sigma Esconden and RJ Stussy are now washed-up con men. Their nefarious plotting leads to a showdown at 5 O’clock. (Is that the Australian equivalent of noon? Just asking.)
• For Becky – Director Chido Mwat (Australia). A black woman and a white woman sit on a park bench in a town in Australia. What results is an exercise in race relations.
• G’day Sunshine (Student Film) – Director Glen (Australia). One way to work around COVID regulations is to cast your films with dolls, and who better to portray Sunshine celebrities than glam, buff Barbie dolls. Kardashians, eat your hearts out!
• Grave Expectations (Student Film) – Director Andy Burkitt (Australia). “I’m no ghoul!” says she indignantly. In this Victorian drama, a grave robber digs the grave of a recently deceased young beauty who turns out to be not as deceased as he was led to believe.
• Holly’s House – Director David Lawrence (Australia). Holly is so scared of talking to her neighbours she hasn’t left the house in 36 days. With just a talking parrot for company and no food in the house, will Holly ever gain the courage to leave the house before it’s too late?
• In Spades – Director Kaiser Tangso (Australia). All Alex wants is a night of peace and quiet building her house of cards. But unfortunately for her, she ain’t getting no peace and even less quiet.
• In The Edit – Director Matthew Victor Pastor (Australia). Talk about meta film making. This filmmaker is stuck in the loop of his own edit. Satre had it easy with No Exit.
• Job Seeker – Director Mark Hellinger (Australia). After losing his job, Majak asks his friend Ibby for advice on how to get a new job. Ibby may not have the best advice but beneath the humour lies a dark truth.
• La Primavera or About Some Features, Possibilities and the Consequences of Creative Approach – Director Nano Balchav (Bulgaria). A surreal black comedy involving a prisoner and an inventive escape plan.
• Le House Exorcist – Director Max Simonson (Australia). Frightened by paranormal disturbances, a young couple call in an exorcist to investigate and cleanse their house, but he is not at all what they expected.
• Living Empty (Student Film) – Director Jahvis Loveday (Australia). An all too brief poetic mediation on the restrictions of urban living by a young indigenous man.
• Living On An Island – Director Kuesti Fraun (Germany). “Live every day as if it were your last because some day, you’re going to be right,” said Muhammad Ali. In the best absurdist tradition, this short is all about the human desire to explore the world.
• Long Overdue – Director Emmet O’Brien (Ireland). A mysterious cabal’s attempt to bring back the dark lord becomes undone when Michael has a problem at the library.
• Maryount – Director Mohamed Lotfy (Egypt). How much freedom do we actually have once the pressures of religion, economics, and politics come to bear on us? Puppets on a string, we are tap dancing in the dark.
• Melted Ice Blocks (Student Film) – Directors Jake Vigden and Jahvis Loveday (Australia). It’s a hot weekend. Zoe and her mates are at a loose end, looking for ways to cool down.
• Ms. Rossi – Director Pat Battistini (Italy). While on her way to a business meeting, Ms. Rossi takes a detour that leads to an unexpected encounter.
• Not American Psycho – Director Sunny S Walia (Australia). Remember the Patrick Bateman character in American Psycho and his morning ritual? This short is a parody/homage a la Melbourne a la Covid.
• Odd One Out – Director Andrew Robb (Australia). Struggling to fit in to a new community, a lonely doll goes on a journey of discovery.
• On (Student Film) – Director Jelena Sinik (Australia). This curious and playful amination explores just where our gaze is falling in our age of attention scarcity.
• Onwards (Student Film) – Director Cooper Bonetti (Australia). A reckless and wacky scientist builds a robot as a friend and assistant. Not necessarily a good idea. Remember HAL?
• Play Along (Student Film) – Director Michael Hollis (Australia). As Samantha attempts to keep up with the rapid changes of her new high school, she is convinced that she must successfully summon a demon in order to fit in. As you do.
• Quarantine Diary – Art in a Time of Coronavirus (Student Film) – Director Jasmin Scuteri-Young (Australia). If you thought you had it tough during the quarantine, spare a thought for the pets, who couldn’t get away from their owners. Check out Pegasus, the cat. If you thought he was grumpy before…
• Same Old Song & Dance – Director Emmet O’Brien (Ireland). She complains about the monotony of their humdrum lifestyle. He disagrees. But how long can they dance around the real issue?
• Socks In Paradise – Director Taysha Mcfarland (Australia). Ever wonder what happens to all those single socks from your laundry? Wonder no more. A group of sexy singles get another chance of finding their perfect pair on a romantic, tropical island.
• Swag Bharat (Student Film) – Director Javahar SK (India). One hundred billion people all contributing to the sewage system. This humorous animation is a timely if unappetising reminder to be mindful of our waste. (S) = Student Film.
• The Interview – Director Ross Page (Australia). A hopelessly phone obsessed and breakfast deprived young woman attends her first job interview at a prestigious Japanese firm.
• The Lazy Barber – Director James Di Martino (Australia). A beard ain’t just a beard. There is a god, there are heroes, and there are gods and heroes with beards. It’s a legend, mate.
• The Tale of Joan (Student Film) – Director Vivian Luh (Australia). Joan battles her personal demons who put her on the stake every day. This Joan ain’t no martyr though and learns to give her demons a taste of their own medicine.
• The Tree Lover – Director Robert Vivancos (United Kingdom). Resident dendrophile (that is a tree lover to us yobs) Cherry Potts guides you through the wonderful world of Arboreal Oralisations. Much, much more fun than it sounds.
• The Unwanted Gift (Student Film) – Director Aaron Zhang (Australia). It’s Adam’s birthday, and when he is disappointed by the size of one of his gifts, he learns that some of the best things come in very small sizes.
• Toilet Paper Dealing: Art in a Time of Coronavirus (Student Film) – Directors Orlando Catoggio and Samuel Roberg (Australia). Orlando and Samuel are competing entrepreneurs in a COVID world. It’s all about toilet paper in this dog eat cat world, and things get nasty.
• Uh-Oh, The Places You’ll Go! – Director Serah Nathan (Australia). Oh, the pressures of those morning meetings and trying to impress the boss. This short captures the absurdity of those jargon infested circles of hell that we have all had the misfortune to experience.
• We Gotta Talk – Director Heidy Villafane (Australia). What happens when a cat lady no longer has a cat?
• Who Needs The Guy – Director Alan Claridge (Australia). Our hero decides that he is going to install his own satellite dish with the help of his mate Andy from down the pub. We all know where this is going, don’t we? Nowhere good.
• Wish – Director Sahra Asadollahi (Iran). Heartbreakingly sweet and sad. It’s all fun and games for little Arezo as she spends the day with her mother until reality comes in with a nasty bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Viewers will have until 11:59pm on 20 February 2021 to watch the festival regardless of when they purchase their ticket. Viewing commences on 11 February 2021.

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