Proudly presented and produced by the City of Port Phillip, the St Kilda Film Festival supports the Australian film industry by turning the spotlight on a wide range of fascinating works that may not otherwise see the light of day. Exceptional short films by both emerging talent and accomplished industry professionals are shown on the big screen, where they look their shiny best.

Accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the St Kilda Film Festival is now an Academy Awards® qualifying event, with award-winning films from the Festival 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 received each year alongside a rich program of international screenings, special events plus a free Filmmaker Development Program.

Awards & Prizes

The Short Film Competition prize pool totals over $50,000 in 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.

Rules & Terms

St Kilda Film Festival Terms and Conditions

1. The St Kilda Film Festival screens Australian-made short films. The Festival also accepts Australian co-productions where:
- a significant proportion of key crew are Australian
- significant pre and post production occurred in Australia
- the film received significant funding from Australia.
Australian co-production eligibility details must be detailed at the time of submission and the Festival has final decisions on eligibility. If you are unsure of eligibility, please contact the Festival office at filmfest@portphillip.vic.gov.au.

2. St Kilda Film Festival accepts all fiction and non-fiction film genres.

3. Films submitted must be no longer than 40 minutes, inclusive of credits.

4. The producer grants St Kilda Film Festival the rights to:
(a) Exhibit the film online for the duration of the Festival, in a programmed session available ‘on-demand’ from the St Kilda Film Festival website via Vimeo Premium.
(b) Include a section of the production for promotional purposes.

5. The producer warrants to the St Kilda Film Festival that they have obtained all the necessary permissions to enter this film and that the film does not infringe the rights, including copyright, of any third party. This includes use of music and literary material.

6. All productions screened at 2020 St Kilda Film Festival must have been completed within 2 years of the entry closing date.

7. Entries cannot be withdrawn after Sunday 10 May 2020. By submitting your film to the St Kilda Film Festival for consideration, you acknowledge this condition of entry and waive your right to withdraw your film from the Festival after this date.

8. If your film is selected for the Festival, you will be sent an email confirmation by April 2020.

9. By accepting the selection of your film to screen at the 2020 St Kilda Film Festival, you consent to the City of Port Phillip providing your contact details to their contracted auspice agency 'Auspicious Arts Projects Inc' for the purpose of managing your $100.00 screening payment.

10. As part of the online presentation of the event, the St Kilda Film Festival will be expanding its reach to a national audience. We do advise that all online festival content will be under a strict geo-blocked restriction limited to Australia only.

13 Reviews
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  • Michele Aboud

    During this challenging time, the St Kilda FF did their utmost to continue with the festival and to fully involve all participants and patrons. Thank you. It was privilage being involved with this renown festival.

    July 2020
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  • India Dupre

    Even though the St Kilda film fest was online this year, they went out of their way to make us filmmakers feel special and rewarded. They even invited the composer from my short RING to an online panel. You can see why they have a terrific reputation and I strongly suggest submitting.

    June 2020
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  • Richard James Allen

    We were thrilled to be part of the first ever online St Kilda Film Festival. It was very well organised and presented, with wonderful communication. We were particularly excited that our film, I WANT TO MAKE A FILM ABOUT WOMEN, was nominated for four awards and won Best Documentary. Thanks to Richard, Laura and Amber and the team for your passion to keep Australian cinema alive!

    June 2020
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  • Xavier Brydges

    Great communication and handling of the festival during COVID-19. The new festival director, Richard Sowada, handled it well!

    June 2020
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  • Philippe Sung

    A must submit festival. Australia's longest running short film festival where the team moved mountains to keep the show on the road during an incredibly challenging environment. Huge congratulations to the festival team for doing such a wonderful job.

    June 2020
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