The Very Short Film Festival is delighted to announce the shortlist for the national competition.
The Very Short Film Festival is a vehicle for social change – a place where diverse voices are front and centre in an environment full of opportunity. Using the power of storytelling through film, the festival provides a chance for creative sides to be discovered and existing skills sharpened. It’s where many of the entrants pick up a camera to shoot something for the first time in years (or ever!). Director Justin Kurzel, says “It is the freedom in making shorts where a cinematic voice develops, where a point of view reveals itself to the filmmaker. And it is at these short film festivals where future filmmakers are revealed, where oxygen is pumped into their passion for film. The Very Short Film Festival gives these young filmmakers a platform, and celebrates their curiosity and love of cinema in a meaningful way. It is an essential event which will have lasting ripples for this group of talented filmmakers.” The winners will be announced at the Premiere Screening Event on Friday May 20 at Spring Bay Mill in Tasmania. Cash prizes will be awarded and mentorships given. Award-winning writer, musician and radio broadcaster Casey Bennetto will MC, and the brilliant indie-folk duo the Runaway Belles will provide the music at our after party. Tickets, from $15, are available for the event. The festival is brought to you by Artology, a powerhouse for developing creativity, and Spring Bay Mill, one of the most idiosyncratic performance and conference venues on the East Coast of Tasmania. “We’re all about connecting people and ideas through the arts,” says Artology Managing Director Anna Cerneaz. “The festival aims to help build a creative community and telling stories that otherwise would not have been told. The number of entries and the diversity of these stories was wonder-filled, exciting and overwhelming – the judges’ – hands were full! Look forward to sharing them to a wider audience.” Renowned judges are on board to mentor successful applicants, including:
- Director of award-winning Tasmanian film Nitram, Justin Kurzel
- Proud Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri woman and author, actor, director and playwright Leah Purcell
- CEO of Australian Film Television and Radio School, Nell Greenwood
- Writer and editor Leta Keens
- Artist Rocco Fazzari, well-known for his cartoons and illustrations in the Fairfax press
- Director producer Bain Stewart.
The shortlist for the Open and Junior Categories are (in no particular order):
Open Category Mark Bernard: New Life (Vic) Adam Bigum, Dan Farmer, Ramas McRae: The Hunted (Vic) Eloïse Boutry, Billy O’Key: Maïa (NSW) Matthew Newton, Anna Brozek: Spring Release (Tas) Andrew Robb: Karl Heinz (Vic) Junior Category Anika Jocumsen: Under the Rainbow (Age 18, Qld) Jahvis Loveday, Joy Ben Hur: Home (Age 21, NSW) Rywinne Logan: In Search of Spring (Age 15, Vic) Lily Lunder, Koko Crozier: The Backwater (Age 17,Vic) Daisy Pyefinch: Imprisoned (Age 15, Tas) Highly Commended Open: Angus Middleton, Jason Ng, Rohin John, Laurence Rosier Staines, James Di Martino, Llewellyn Michael Bates, Jennie Feyen, Conor Castles-Lynch, Nada Mawsouf, Henry Fisher, Shaun Wilson, Billy White, Zoe Haynes-Smith, Olivia Buonopane, James Adams, Doug Hall, Cristy Froehlich, James Guilar, Marcus Galic, Katherine Tandoc, Kyle Portbury, Martin Sinclair, Jesse Polden, Robbie Beakley, Byron Davies, Radheya Jegatheva Junior: Sophia Pocket, Aireys Inlet Primary School, Tallulah Remond-Stephen, Pius Kung, Angelica Willis, Makenzie Young-Armstrong, Liam Miller, Markello Souvlis, Ellis Plant, Astrid Teague, Izzy Oborn, Ella Demarchi, Rose Callaghan, Layla Darwich, Jake Bell, Daniel Schafer, Madeleine Hogan, Catherine Smit, Isabel Park, Yael Green
Very Short Film Festival
Premiere Screening & Announcement of Winning Films
Date: 5:30pm, Friday 20 May 2022 Where: Spring Bay Mill, 555 Freestone Point Road, Triabunna, Tasmania Livestream at 6pm – link available soon: VeryShortFilmFestival.com
MC: Casey Bennetto, award-winning writer, musician and radio broadcaster Live Music (after the livestream): Indie-folk duo the Runaway Belles
Tickets: $15-$25 includes a welcome drink and canapés. Bookings HERE. Dinner available for purchase. Onsite accommodation is available: www.springbaymill.com