Proudly presented and produced by the City of Port Phillip, the St Kilda Film Festival supports the Australian film industry by showcasing the best short films. These films, made by emerging and accomplished industry professionals are in with a chance to share in a massive prize pool, with the Festival also an Academy Awards qualifying event (award-winning films from the Festival are eligible for consideration in the Short Film Awards and Documentary Short sections of the Oscars®).
St Kilda Film Festival provides the most comprehensive overview of the national short film industry, screening the top short film entries alongside a rich program of special events, international screenings and a free filmmaker development program.
Submissions for ‘Under the Radar’ (St Kilda Film Festival's youth competition for filmmakers under the age of 21) will soon be opening via https://filmfreeway.com/StKildaFilmFestival-UndertheRadar
A message from Festival Director, Richard Sowada:
The St Kilda Film Festival is Australia’s oldest short film event and represents a key annual event on the national screen culture calendar.
Each year, the festival receives hundreds of entries from around the country, and it’s this diversity that makes the film festival one of the most dynamic and vital celebrations of the short form in the country.
The virtual 2020 St Kilda Film Festival reached national audiences for our online fest. For 2021, we ran in both the physical and virtual worlds to great success, reaching 34,000 in Melbourne and around the country. For 2022, we ran a hybrid event and for 2023 we’ll continue to integrate online elements but primarily live in the real world with physical screenings, exhibitions, moving image art, professional development and creative collaborations across the City of Port Phillip. There’ll be a sackful of surprises and we’d love to see your film in the mix.
Your film will be assessed by a panel and then a jury of festival alumni and industry experts, so even though we may (or may not) meet in the flesh, your film will make connections with filmmakers and industry in ways you may not think.
The beachside suburb of St Kilda is nationally renowned for its vibrancy, energy and creative adventure. Was that a hint? We look forward to seeing your creations.
The Short Film Competition has a huge prize pool of cash and in-kind craft awards, including a $10,000 prize for Best Short Film. Other awards include Best Director, Best Achievement in Screenplay, Best Documentary and Best Achievement in Cinematography.