The Far South Film Festival showcases films made by filmmakers living in regional and remote areas of Australia.

The festival is screened in Merimbula, NSW, Australia each year by Far South Film Inc, an association of professional and emerging filmmakers and digital creatives located in the South East region of NSW Australia.

We invite our fellow filmmakers from regional and remote areas of Australia to submit to our festival short films (up to 40 minutes) and feature films (up to 90 minutes) that reflect the people, environment and issues that are important to them.

We look forward to seeing the unique, the beautiful, the scary, the moving stories from people living in some of the lesser known areas of our island continent, outside the major metropolitan areas.

Photo credits:
Bagan, Barra Barra, Mirriwarr: Andrew Robinson (Best Film 2021)
Yuwinj Dhari-Bulwal: Hiromi Matsuoka (Best Use of Regional Location 2021)

Awards & Prizes

Best Film Prize AUD$1000. Total Prize Pool approx AUD$5500 (cash and/or equipment or in-kind prizes). Other categories are confirmed closer to the Festival but generally include Best Performance, Best Director, Best Sound, Best Use of a Regional Location, Best Youth Film, Diversity Award.

Rules & Terms

Submissions are open to filmmakers resident in regional and remote Australia as defined at: https://farsouthfilmfestival.com/regional/

At least two of the key creatives (Writer/Director/Producer/Cinematographer) must reside in one of the regional/remote areas of Australia defined above.

Films must not be freely publicly accessible online via another platform in the 2 weeks leading to and including the festival period.

Films must be under 40 minutes (short) or under 90 minutes (feature) in length.

Only finalist films as selected by the jury will be screened at the festival.

By submitting your film, you also agree to adhere to all of the Festival rules published on our Festival website at: https://farsouthfilmfestival.com/submit/

Far South Film Members receive a discount on entry fees - if you have not received your promo code by email please email info@farsouthfilmfestival.com
6 Reviews
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  • Simone Atallah

    Everything about the Far South Film Festival was fantastic from my enquiry before submission to comms and support after the festival. I am extremely grateful and honoured that Return Chute received the Best Documentary award, and felt like I and the other award winners and finalists were genuinely celebrated by the FSFF team. Everyone I dealt with was highly professional, engaged, helpful, and communicated well every step of the way. I love that this festival's mission is to showcase regional filmmakers and hope the team and sponsors can continue doing this for many more years.

    September 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Simone for your amazing feedback on our festival. Congratulations again on your award. We look forward to seeing more of your work at our festival, and hope you can make it in person to our festival some time in the future.
    x Far South Film Festival

  • Bonnie Lois Sveen

    Far South are a wonderful regional festival, caring about their film makers and passionate about the film works! Thanks for screening my film RILEY. I would’ve loved to attend the festival & Q&A in person but sadly couldn’t. The virtual interview was wonderful though, and I appreciated the thought that went into the questions and discussions. Definitely a festival you want to submit to!

    August 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks so much Bonnie. Hoping you can make it to a future festival and look forward to seeing what you direct next!
    xFar South Film Festival

  • Duncan Ragg

    A truly wonderful festival, run by passionate programmers, where filmmakers are encouraged to connect, and to share knowledge & experience. Merimbula is the perfect setting, and an excellent excuse to visit the festival. Highly recommended.

    August 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks so much Duncan. So glad you enjoyed our little festival and we look forward to seeing you back here again. Congratulations on your awards!

  • Angus Goozée

    Such a well organised festival. Unfortunately, I was away so I couldn't attend in person but the communication with event organisers was great and they were so nice to deal with. Stoked to take home a few awards and looking forward to getting along next year.

    September 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Angus - it was lovely to be able to interview you in between your travels and your awards were well deserved, as audience response also showed. Can't wait to see your next project!

  • Will Scott

    I had an absolutely fantastic time at the Far South Film Festival 2022. It was such an incredible opportunity to not only have my film selected, but to be interviewed by local journalists and be invited to speak on a panel as well. The event was overall very well-organised. Thank you for shining a spotlight on the region, and I can't wait to visit again next year!

    August 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Will, so glad you were able to make it to our festival in person and to be on our panel telling the audience what it's like to be a film maker in a regional area. Looking forward to seeing you and your film next year!