SHORT FILMS
Short films precede most features at our festival, curated to expand the narrative and create a richer experience within a single session. World-class, surprising, and often boundary-pushing, these works frequently take you somewhere unexpected. Many of the filmmakers will be in attendance to present their films and connect with audiences.
If you’re looking for a particular short film, use the search bar above, or scroll down to see them listed in order of their screening dates.
For those who love short films, we also present seven special sessions that bring these works into the spotlight: International Shorts, from around the world, Stay Strange, a celebration of the wonderfully unconventional; Through the Local Lens, a showcase of the Northern Rivers’ own creative talent; Onda Latina / Latin Wave, surf shorts from South America; Salt in Her Veins, a collection of short films about women taking their place in the line-up; What Belongs Here, Indigenous short films exploring language, culture, ancestral memory, and profound connections to Country and the Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Competition, where emerging voices take centre stage.
PSYCHE
Screens with: Late Fame
Psyche explores intimacy, identity, and the unsettling patterns hidden within modern relationships.
DADDY'S LITTLE MEATBALL
Screens with: Late Fame
Daddy’s Little Meatball explores the distance that opens up between a parent and child when a child starts to see their parent too clearly.
THE SCAN
Comedic and heartwarming. The Scan celebrates unlikely connections and new beginnings.
DATE 3
DATE 3 explores the murky, and at times illusive, world of emotional abuse. It gives visceral insight into the everyday threat and vulnerability of the female experience.
REFLECTIONS OF FEMININITY
Screens with: Bitter Christmas
Sincere and insightful, Reflections On Femininity asks, what is femininity?
NEXT LEVEL
Screens With: Bitter Christmas
Next Level explores anxieties around fertility and pregnancy with festive sense of humour.
SOME KIND OF BLUE
Screens with: Crack Me Open
SOME KIND OF BLUE is a haunting exploration of the uncanny and unseen realms of loss.
SPIRIT OF THE THRESHOLD RIVER
Screens with: The Tale Of Silyan
A poetic offering to the river and the unseen currents that connect body, place and belonging.
BIRDERS
Screens with: The Tale Of Silyan
Birders is a heartwarming story on the importance of friendship and the beauty of time spent out in nature. Capturing the magic of the bond between two bird watchers and in the landscapes they adventure to.
A STABLE FOR HORSES
Screens with: Late Fame
A dreamy and nostalgic yarn steeped in Australian identity. A Stable For Horses is a homage to the great traditions of oral storytelling.
Premiered at Cannes Film Festival
EXTRA TIME
Screens with: Guided By Horses
Extra Time is a personal story exploring masculine stoicism.
WE DON'T TAKE BREAKS
Screens with: The Best Summer
We Don’t Take Breaks is a relatable glimpse into the mind of an underpaid hospitality worker.
HELP! EVERYTHING IS FINE
Screens with: The Best Summer
A razor sharp black comedy that explores the absurd humour of bleak situations
ORIGINAL HEIST
Screens with: The Best Summer
A fresh stoner comedy that serves as a love letter to Hollywood movies.
NEXT LEVEL
Screens With: Bitter Christmas
Next Level explores anxieties around fertility and pregnancy with festive sense of humour.
THE SCAN
Screens with: The Fox
Comedic and heartwarming. The Scan celebrates unlikely connections and new beginnings.
dAIsy
Screens with: That Half Barbaric Twang
This funny and modern comedy addresses the current state of filmmaking.
DATE 3
Screens with: The Fox
DATE 3 explores the murky, and at times illusive, world of emotional abuse. It gives visceral insight into the everyday threat and vulnerability of the female experience.
THAT'S SO FEIS
Screens with: Big Girls Don’t Cry
Hilarious and heartfelt, That’s So Feis is a joyful love letter to Irish dance and finding your inner child.
GANIBARRA
Screens with: Guided By Horses
Grounded in truth-telling, Ganibarra confronts the dominant narratives about dingoes that have justified generations of killing, while making space for deeper listening and accountability.
MORNING MR GERREY
Screens with: Guided By Horses
Morning Mr Gerrey is a gentle portrait of ageing and companionship; celebrating the power of quiet moments and private routines.
PRECIPICE
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
Intimate and enlightening, Precipice is a portrait of both an artist and a world on the brink.
REFLECTIONS ON FEMININITY
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
Sincere and insightful, Reflections On Femininity asks, what is femininity?
COWING
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
Cowing is a tense thriller that explores challenging questions.
FROM PATIENT TO PRACTITIONER - THE SCOTT PAINTER STORY
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
An inspirational story of adversity overcome
SPIRIT OF THE THRESHOLD RIVER
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
A poetic offering to the river and the unseen currents that connect body, place and belonging.
FROM THOUGHT TO EXPORT
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
An intimate look at the process and passion that goes into filmmaking.
DEEP HOPE
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
Thrillingly surreal Deep Hope explores unrequited love and the space between reality and desire.
MY FRIEND ARTEMIS
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
A poignant tale of friendship reunited and the persistence of nature.
TRACE
Screens as part of: Through The Local Lens
Trace is a gentle, reflective and contemporary exploration of nature, movement and belonging – centred through d/Deaf and disabled perspectives that reveal different ways of sensing and connecting with the world around us.