Celebrating its thirty fifth year, Flickerfest returned to The Mercury on Saturday, 9th May as part of its 2026 national tour with two brilliant programs of short films, the first from Australians and the second from international film makers.
Flickerfest has established a reputation as being Australia’s leading competitive short film festival now attracting thousands of entries from all around the world. It has been recognised as a qualifying festival for the Best Short Film and Best Animation categories of the Academy® Awards and has also been recognised by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), making films from the UK that won at Flickerfest, eligible for a BAFTA nomination. The Australian competition has also received Academy® accreditation along with its Documentary competition.
The two programmes shown on the night were specially curated selection of highlights from Flickerfest’s competition programmes shown in Bondi earlier this year.
The first program of the night was The Best of Australian Shorts, which included five short films highlighting outstanding South Australian film makers, the films were:
Trading Cards – writer/director/producer Radheya Jang, producer Jay Jay Jegathesan
(Yoram Gross Award, Best Australian Animated Short Film, Flickerfest 2026)
A man journeys back in time to find his younger self, under the guise of trading cards, but the exchange turns into a haunting exploration of identity, mental health, and the fading light of childhood innocence.
Baby Shower – writer Matt Day, producer Heather Mitchell
Heidi’s baby shower descends into chaos when her estranged father crashes the party.
Boyish – writer/producer Luke Wiltshire, director/producer Scarlett Scherer
Josh & Cam – two life long friends – test the boundaries of their friendship with a kiss.
The Secret – writer/producer Lilla Berry, producer Piri Eddy
Alone and ashamed, a young woman grapples with the weight of her choice as she endures an abortion at home.
Boy On Fire – writer/director Alies Sluiter, producer William Littleton
(Winner of the Oscar Qualifying Lumix Award for Best Australian Short Film)
Noah has a secret. But when he falls for his boss’s daughter, the longer he keeps it hidden, the more dangerous it becomes.
Writers In Love – writer Grace Isabella Malouf , director Sarah Joan Wischusen Giles, producer Hugo O’Connor
A comedy about two writers whose romantic entanglement takes a sharp turn when they realize they have conflicting ideas about the ethics of writing. As their boundaries clash, the line between storytelling and manipulation begins to blur.
The Way Of The Wind – writer/director/producer Nicholas Burt, producer Jack Langford
Set in the early 20th century after the expansive and violent Frontier Wars, we follow The Ragged Man as he runs across the vast and abandoned landscapes of the Australian Outback. His past catches up to him as he has to come to terms with his violent past and his connection to a deadly sniper.
Alpha Test – writer/director Stephen Packer, producer Adam Camporeale
A young detective must solve a murder with the help of a hologram copy of the victim.
The Scan – writer/director Jake Shannon, producer Cecilia Low
Based on a true story, we follow Jenny, a middle-aged woman in remission going for an MRI. However, before the scan Jenny discovers that she can’t take off her erotic piercing. This leads to her finding an unlikely confidant in the MRI’s Technician as they both try and find a solution to this tricky situation.
The second programme of the night was The Best of International Shorts which included a host of international highlights enjoying their Australian premieres including:
Radix – writer/director/producer Anne Breymann
(Yoram Gross Award, Best International Animated Short Film – Academy® Qualifying, Flickerfest 2026)
Two creatures meet on a tree. Their encounter goes deep down to the roots and beyond.
A Friend Of Dorothy – writer/director Lee Knight, producers James Dean, Max Harlow, Scottie Forte
A lonely widow’s quiet life is upended when a teenage boy accidentally kicks his football into her garden.
Katti – writer/director/producer Kanishka Aggarwal, writer Akshita Namjoshi, producer Wenfeng Li
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.
Dancing Sober – writer/director Kristian A. Söderström, producer Josefine Green
Bullied by wife and daughter and mistreated at work, Herman escapes with boozed up dancing alone in the middle of the night…until a drunken dance floor takeover at an office party turns him into a viral sensation and sparks a long overdue rebellion.
They – writer/director Renée Zellweger, writer Paul Smith, producer Tora Young
As townsfolk rage in their fog of negativity, our hero and his dog aim to encourage a return to better days! The opposite effect leads to an unexpected calamity which galvanizes the masses.
A Sisyphean Task – writer/director Gus Flind-Henry, George Malcher, producer George Telfer
Follows Lucy, a 23 year old newly qualified teacher, through her first year of teaching. A bright yet unflinching glimpse into the British school system, all set within the walls of Lucy’s classroom.
My Plastic Mother – writer/director Amar Haikal, producer Michael Rainheart
(Flickerfest Award, Best International Short Film – Academy® Qualifying, Flickerfest 2026)
Eki, living by the landfill, searches for a memento to honor his late mother. Battling the relentless rain, landslides, and looming threats from scavengers and machinery, he fears her memory could be lost beneath the waste forever.
The Singers – director/producer Sam Davis, producers Jack Piatt, David Breschel, Charlie Cohen, Simon Rayka Zehtabchi
A genre-bending film adaptation of a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden men connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off. With a cast of first-time actors from the unlikeliest corners of TikTok and YouTube, the film is a celebration of diamonds in the rough and a testament to the power of vulnerability through art.
Both programmes were superb, as usual for Flickerfest, congratulations in particular to Alies Sluiter and William Littleton for winning the Oscar Qualifying Lumix Award for Best Australian Short Film for their excellent film.
Happy thirty fifth birthday Flickerfest – and may there be many, many more!
Two brilliant programs of short films – well done Flickerfest!
