For the past three years, Rock The Boat Film Festival has brought together storytellers of all ages and backgrounds — some seasoned filmmakers, some just beginning their creative journeys, and others with powerful messages who value this platform to share their stories. Each short film screened has embodied the essence of this festival: stories that challenge, inspire, and connect us.

In 2025, once again, we want you to show that storytelling has no barriers — regardless of age, ability, or the equipment you use. Your story can leave just as much of an impact on the audience as anything else on the silver screen. More than ever, we want the stories you tell to bring communities closer together.

At the culmination of each year's festival season is our Gala Awards Night. Storytellers have the opportunity to walk the red carpet, interact with peers, and connect with representatives of local organisations and the community, and have their stories be witnessed and celebrated by an audience from across different WA regions, before being awarded for their efforts and encouraged to pursue their passions.

You can enter your projects for free (and submit as many different entries as you like) before our deadline for entries at 11:59 pm AWST on 31st July, 2025.

Filming Location: To be eligible, your project must have been filmed, set, or animated within any location(s) in Western Australia that are between SOUTH of the Swan River and WEST of Albany Highway. (We'll also permit any address along Albany Highway.)

Awards & Prizes

MAIN CATEGORIES:

• OPEN Short Film – Under 15 minutes
• OPEN Documentary – Under 10 minutes
• STUDENT SHORT FILM or DOCUMENTARY – Under 10 minutes *
• LOCAL PEOPLE & PLACES – Under 10 minutes **
• SUPER SHORT FILM – Under 3 Minutes

Prize money is not yet determined. All category winners will be awarded after all September screenings and at our Gala Awards Night in October.

There will also be Awards of Recognition to be announced at a later date and awarded at our Gala Awards Night. These Awards of Recognition are yet TBA.

*(Please note: films created by individual students or groups of students who at the time of entry are enrolled in tertiary, secondary, or primary education, whether or not they were produced at campus or for any projects.)

** (Local People & Places are stories that celebrate local lives, culture, traditions, and landscapes. These short films or documentaries may feature community figures or personal stories, highlight local challenges or triumphs, explore significant regional events, or showcase the area's unique natural beauty and defining local landmarks. This category is open to novice storytellers (i.e. those who have not earned an income from producing film or video work). For participants who have, or for any aspiring filmmakers, you may enter the OPEN Short Film and/or OPEN Documentary categories. We reserve the right to re-categorise entries in the spirit of fairness.)

A REQUIREMENT FOR 2025:
To make this film festival as accessible as possible, we require you to provide us with a text document with a transcript for all English and non-English dialogue, so that our editor can add subtitles. Please either attach this transcript document with your submission or email them to our RTBFF address (which you can find at the bottom of the FilmFreeway Confirmation of Entry email). We prefer receiving the transcripts so that we may standardise the subtitles (for consistency and accessibility), however, if you choose to subtitle entries yourself, please contact us to ensure that they'll be legible for audiences and will fit within safe margins for the big screen.

Rules & Terms

2025 TERMS & CONDITIONS:

Entrants may choose one category only in which to submit their project. If the organisers feel the project belongs in another category, or require proof of student status, we will contact you.

Only new submissions that have not been entered into Rock The Boat Film Festival in previous years will be considered for short listing.

Please upload your video to your FilmFreeway account. Then, return to www.filmfreeway.com/rocktheboatfilmfestival to select your entry category and follow the prompts to submit your film. You will receive a confirmation once your entry has been successfully submitted.

Filmmakers retain the copyright of their projects.

By submitting to this festival, you agree and acknowledge that:

1. You own the rights to, or have any of the necessary permissions and/or licenses to feature and publicly broadcast all visual and audio content within your entry (including graphics, music, and trademarks).

2. To be eligible, your project must have been filmed, set, or animated within any location(s) in Western Australia that are between SOUTH of the Swan River and WEST of Albany Highway. (We'll also permit any address along Albany Highway.)

3. You give permission for your entry (or parts of your entry) to be used for promotional purposes by Rock The Boat Film Festival before and after the entry deadline and pre- and post- screenings and ceremonies.

4. While projects which have been entered into other competitions may be accepted and shortlisted, projects which have previously won a place or any monetary awards will not be eligible for being a main category finalist.

5. Submissions close on 31st July, 2025 and cannot be withdrawn afterwards, unless for exceptional circumstances.

6. You, as the entrant, will have an Australian residential or postal address. We will only consider an international address if the filmmaker has filmed within the specified regions, as per point 2 above.

7. The film festival and its organisers shall not be held liable for any claims, damages, losses, or disputes arising from the content of the short films or documentaries screened during the event. You agree to release the Event and its associates, partners, and affiliates from any legal action whatsoever.

8. We reserve the right to make amendments to any festival guidelines or proceedings or categories at our sole discretion.
3 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Martin K

    To say I'm impressed with how well this film festival was run is an understatement. The communication was great! The people running it care about all the filmmakers regardless of where they are on their filmmaking journey, and made me feel that my voice mattered. The whole event had a great vibe. I can't remember when I was last in a cinema when the audience applauded and cheered throughout the screening like they did with Rock the Boat. It was quite something!

    November 2024
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  • Mick Horne

    Thank you for another great Rock The Boat Film Festival Awards night. I didn’t receive any awards, but I did see a lot of great creations. So many clever minds out there, impressing the audience with a variety of their fantastic creations.
    Apart from being another well-run Film Festival, I was extremely impressed by the age of many of the creators. They are so young, and yet produced some excellent work. Their creations were at a level you would expect from older, more seasoned creators.
    A big thank you to the Rock The Boat crew & your wonderful sponsors for giving our hidden talent the opportunity to shine and see their films on the big screen, inspiring them to bigger and better things for their future in film. You are helping to put Rockingham on the Australian film industry map. A map which is currently growing and receiving an increase in interest from overseas.
    Mick Horne

    November 2024
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  • Zac .B

    Absolute 5 stars. Can't wait for this year.

    August 2024
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