Held in the historical regional gold-mining town of Gympie in Queensland, Australia, the 12th Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival will be the best and biggest yet. Running from 3 - 6 October 2019, Heart of Gold celebrates well-crafted films from around the world that deeply resonate with the viewer. The four-day program includes industry masterclasses, a stunning opening night party and up to 30 sessions of shorts from all genres that best capture Heart of Gold’s vision to screen films that are heart-warming, thought-provoking and entertaining. They can be edgy, they can be groundbreaking and they can be downright hilarious – as long as they beat with a good, strong heart.

Over eleven years, Heart of Gold has become renowned for its high quality program, which is largely thanks to a very unique, two-part screening system. The films are filtered through the festival’s artistic director and passed onto small screener groups, who gather in lounge-rooms across Gympie to review and score the countless, cherished submissions. This makes Heart of Gold films not only treasured by the community around them, but also sure to stand the test of time nationally and abroad.

Awards & Prizes

• BEST SHORT FILM
• BEST AUSTRALIAN FILM
• BEST STUDENT FILM
• SCREENERS' CHOICE AWARD
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
• BEST SCRIPT
• BEST SOUND DESIGN

Rules & Terms

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1. Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival is open to all film genres and films from all countries. However, film content should be in line with the festival’s ethos and vision. We are seeking films that are: positive, hilarious, witty, whimsical, nourishing, well-crafted, inspiring, thought-provoking, entertaining, joyous, uplifting, quirky, enlightening, ground breaking or edgy.

If you are unsure of eligibility, please contact the festival’s artistic director at artisticdirector@heartofgold.com.au

2. Films should not have been made prior to 1 January, 2017.

3. The producer grants the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival the rights to:
(a) Exhibit the film in the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival and any subsequent tour.
(b) Reproduce the film for inclusion as part of a compilation.
(c) Exhibit the production either in part or in total for promotional purposes.

4. The producer warrants to the Heart of Gold International Short 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 (i.e. if your film is based on a novel or poem).

5. Entries will not be considered valid until the entry fee has been paid.

6. Early bird entries must be received by midnight 30 April 2019

7. Entries for extended deadline submission must be received by midnight 14 June 2019.

8. Entries may not be withdrawn after 10 July 2019.

9. If your film is selected for the competition you will be sent a letter of confirmation from no later than 09 August, 2019. Digital master files must be received by 7 September 2019.

10. Materials submitted in the initial entry process will not be returned.

11. Films in languages other than English must be supplied with English subtitles.

12. The Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival may tour/screen a selection of 2019 films prior to the 2020 festival. All films entered in the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival must be available for touring.

13. The Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival will only screen productions finished As a high-resolution Apple ProRes, H.264 or MP4 digital file (the following codecs will NOT be accepted FLV, WMV, AVI, or any low res files). Please also ensure your films are supplied with a stereo mix only and not a Dolby 5.1 mix) To ensure your entry is screened correctly, you must also include ratio details (e.g. 1920 x 1080).

14. Please do NOT send a DVD directly to the festival.

Please note: ENTERING A FILM IN THIS FESTIVAL IMPLIES THE ACCEPTANCE OF THESE REGULATIONS.
2 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
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  • Festival Formula Ltd

    Heart of Gold is a rare festival in that its remit is focused but also their quality of content that they screen is stellar. We are always recommending this festival to filmmakers that we think suit the brief, and we've always had great success for our clients here. Definitely recommend!

    October 2018
    Helpful
  • Mark Harris

    What an amazing festival! This one is truly special - the community screening process makes it unique in that the films are screened and selected based on what a committee of locals feel.

    The festival was kind enough to get us accommodation with lovely hosts (who were part of the festival itself), and shuttle us with free transport all weekend. What an absolute blast we had representing "Passage of Flick" here amongst such a top tier selection of films. We'll definitely try and make it back next year :)

    October 2017
    Helpful
    Heartofgold logo
    Response from festival:

    Mark thank you so much for your kind words! It was so great to have you at the festival to come and meet all the people who loved 'Passage of Flick' and we look forward to seeing what you submit this year!