The Best Australian Short Film Competition announces shortlist and starts People’s Choice Award voting

Dylan CapornPerthNow
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Camera IconAmong the best films is Mia Charleson’s ‘Crimson Sands’ — an uneasy eight-minute film that centres on a psychologically broken man, Trevor, on a remote property, battling disturbing hallucinations of a former love.  Credit: Adam Taylor/ Adam Taylor

A seagull falling in love with a drone, documentaries exploring the heart of Australia and tense dramas delving into mental health — Australia’s richest short film competition has seen the undiscovered talent of the country’s movie production scene step behind the camera in creative ways.

The competition, being run by PerthNow in collaboration with major sponsor SAE Creative Media Institute, attracted more than 750 films from across Australia, including dramas, comedies, documentaries and animations.

Now, the final shortlist has been revealed, with the top 30 short films available to watch on PerthNow, where viewers will have a chance to vote for their favourite and a shot at winning $1000.

The shortlist includes nine Western Australian entries, eight documentaries, four animations and six films by directors under the age of 18.

NSW was home to 11 entrants, while the burgeoning film scene in Queensland has inspired five movies.

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Among the best films is Mia Charleson’s “Crimson Sands” — an uneasy eight-minute film that centres on a psychologically broken man, Trevor, on a remote property, battling disturbing hallucinations of a former love.

The NSW 20-year-old said the inspiration for the film came from spending hours as a child travelling through outback Australia.

“The outback lets you, like, stop and think because it’s just so quiet and it’s just a whole other world,” she said. “It’s the isolating feeling of the outback that I wanted to bring it into my film — it makes people feel a bit uneasy because you can’t get help.”

Under time pressures, the film was shot over just three days, Charleson said.

“I pushed everything aside in my life and me, my producer and my director of photography we were . . . just constantly, like, living the life of this film,” she said.

Camera IconMia Charleson. Credit: Adam Taylor/ Adam Taylor

“To get that psychological impact in that time I had a lot of help from a lot of people. I find making films is a huge team effort and it’s not just the director. I couldn’t have done it without my crew.”

Charleson said she was ecstatic to have made the final shortlist.

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“I‘ve been constantly thinking about (the nomination). I got the call on my way to something and I just wanted to jump up and down and cry — it’s just a huge thing even being considered,” she said.

“I know there’s potential with it, but . . . as a filmmaker, you always know what stuff you can improve on. I’m so grateful for the opportunity even to be considered.”

The top 30 are vying for the $30,000 Best Australian Short Film prize as well as a $5000 People’s Choice prize.

Other prize categories include $5000 for the best youth film, $5000 for the best animated short, and $7500 for the best First Nations entry, which is supported by WA’s peak film funding body, Screenwest.

West Australian Newspapers Editor-in-Chief Anthony De Ceglie said the competition’s uptake showed the next generation had jumped at the opportunity to tell their stories to a national audience.

“The Best Australian Short Film Competition has shone a spotlight on the rising young talent across Australia’s booming film sector,” he said.

“Competition for the main prize and across the categories is incredibly tight, with at least 10 judges watching every film which made the shortlist. But now, the competition is over to our readers, who can pick their favourite and have a chance to watch, vote and win.”

The winners will be announced at a live-streamed awards night on Thursday, February 29.

To watch Crimson Sands, and all the short-listed films, visit PerthNow at www.perthnow.com.au/basf to Watch, Vote, Win, for your chance to win $1000.

THE SHORTLIST

The New Boyfriend

Matias Klaver and Vicki Gard

Long-time married couple Simon and Bianca are hosting a dinner party for Simon’s sister Zoe to meet her new boyfriend Lucas. But they have also invited long-time married couple Carlos and Willow, what could go wrong?

Bird Drone

Radheya Jegatheva

A heartfelt story of unrequited love explored through a lonely seagull struggling to accept that his newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with a limited battery life.

Beneath The Wake

Stephanie Liquorish

An ode to the ocean as told by a long-time ocean lover Logan Collier, this short documentary is a poetic retelling of Logan’s life journey from brain tumour survivor, to semi-professional wake boarder, to loving father.

We Used to Own Houses

David Robinson-Smith

Thom, a determined renter, confronts Ben, a burdened landlord. Within the confines of their meeting, cryptic verses echo, unravelling the hidden truths of a broken system. As walls crumble and secrets are laid bare, a haunting truth emerges, shattering the illusions of home. In this unsettling invasion, power shifts and the consequences of greed unfold.

Chrysalis

Raphael Dunn

A boy finds something invaluable in the water.

Just Beneath the Surface

Keiran James and Jimmy John Thaiday

On a fishing trip, a man struggles with a strange and menacing ocean. Will he fight against nature’s forces, or submit to its power?

Chip Packet Day

Oscar Axel Thorborg

A young woman seeks refuge in the comfort of a chip packet when her partner arrives home with a barrage of social obligations. It is a film about the day we all sorely need but so rarely allow ourselves to have.

The Tale of Mr Kimberley

Marlanie Haerewa, Jake Blackburn and Sam Lovell

He is known by the people as Mr Kimberley, but his mates just call him Sammy. This man has a tale to tell. He was part of the stolen generation; became a master stockman and came to be known as the godfather of tourism in the Kimberley.

Our Wellbeing, Our Way

Luisa Mitchell and Radheya Jegatheva

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s holistic and interconnected ways of experiencing wellbeing is brutally disrupted by British colonisers, leading to intergenerational trauma and systemic disadvantage. A short film asking, how can we heal after so much hurt?

Self-portrait

Mahdi Poursamad

This animated short follows a painter as he captures the essence of those on the brink of passing. Amidst the twilight of life and art, he confronts his own mortality in a poignant final masterpiece.

Substratum

Harvey Abrahams

A young heir to a dictatorship navigates an isolated world of power and control. A solitary gesture of peace leads to tragic revelations in this stark allegory of inherited violence and the urgent need for empathy.

One Day at a Time

Michael Long, Ben Jones and Nanda Gunnink

Discover the extraordinary journey of Liam Costello, a second-generation Agent Orange child, overcoming cerebral palsy and a brain injury to pursue national-level athletics. Unveil Liam’s indomitable spirit as he transforms disabilities into super abilities, aiming to represent Australia in the Olympics. Taking it one day at a time.

Crimson Sands

Mia Charleson

Crimson Sands delves into the depths of the fragile human psyche. The thought-provoking narrative captures a psychologically broken man, confined to his remote outback property and imprisoned by hallucinations of his former romance.

Losing It

Amy Wright, Jessica Kilroe-Smith, Finn Edwards, John Ross, Daniel Nickless and Isabelle Broadbent

A teenage boy eager to lose his virginity goes to his girlfriend’s house. To his horror, her parents are there, excited to celebrate this experience with them. Desperate to achieve his goal, he tries to ignore the strange situation he’s in. Will he finally lose it?

The Ways We Cook

Juno Shean

The pressure is put on the son to cook for his entire family at a Korean barbecue restaurant, however, the family’s painful past forces them to eventually confront their emotions.

Pinch

Aimee Patmore and Anna Dvorak

A high school student battles a silent illness which she hides from her mother as her health quietly declines.

NGURRAWAANA

GARUWA, Kieran Satour, Juluwarlu Art Group, Wimiya Woodley, Iya Ware, Jirra Harvey

NGURRAWAANA explores Yindjibarndi man, Wimiya Woodley’s journey back to his homelands and shows us how being back on Country helps First Nations people find their spirit and power amongst their ancestors.

Erzi

Kai D’Amour and Tin Huyen Pham

Erzi decides to become a professional musician, but his mother’s history of rejection may ultimately pull them apart.

Bin Day

Ryan Butler

A pacifist woman and her lazy husband must work together to rid their home of an unwanted, un-dead pest during the apocalypse.

Ablaze

Danni Fenech

“I’ve never felt safe walking home . . .”. Amidst the empty fields of a quiet, country town, an innocent first meeting becomes something much more sinister.

Phone Call

Toby Bajrovic

In the wake of devastating news, a troubled drifter must confront his past and ask his estranged brother for help in order to prevent a future tragedy.

Australian Mongrel

Rocco Fazzari and Belinda Lopez

Australia decides if outsiders can stay based on their ‘mode of arrival’. This film asks strangers on trains: “How did you get here?” Many answer with the station they hopped on. Others, used to being perceived as not ‘Australian’, tell stories about the danger, heartbreak and hope of arriving here.

Waves

Katharina Keil

Two friends, Sam and Ethel, reconnect playing a fun game at their local beach.

A Stirling Mission

Alex Clapin

In the rugged beauty of Western Australia’s Stirling Range, the Perth slack-lining crew pushes beyond their comfort zone, trading local quarry mid-lines for a wild dream to establish the first high-line in the region. Fueled by passion and determination, their journey redefines limits, tests capabilities, and forges unbreakable bonds among these adventurous spirits.

A Quiet Embrace

Caelan Morris

Oliver suffers from a selective mutism condition, making conventional social interaction challenging, though his interest is peaked as he notices his classmate, Ruby. Navigating the confusing and chaotic passage of teenage love, the pair discover they may have more in common than initially imagined.

Somniator

Kokoda Cadzow-Smith

Threatened by his fear of loneliness, Bog navigates a nightmarish landscape, eventually facing the one person he has always rejected.

Unbound

Dylan Gale

Overwhelmed with the relentless monotony of life in the city, the protagonist dreams of finding serenity in nature. After catching a glimpse of the ocean from his office window, he decides to escape the urban confines and pursue inner peace.

Verge Collection

Taylor Finch, Nicholas Verryn, Nadine Barry and Kyle Thistlethwaite

Verge Collection combs the cluttered streets of suburban Perth to reveal the treasured stories that lie behind objects, discarded to the verge. The film takes a poetic look at these nostalgic items, appreciating that “everything is worthy of close examination”.

The Interview

Alok Rao

Matt, a 67-year-old disabled man, comes face-to-face with his own prejudices when his regular carer goes on leave and he has to interview a new carer. He discovers that his new Indian carer, Sameer, holds the key to a defining moment in his past.

Darkness Rising

Adam Ciancio

A young woman wakes up to find the world under threat by a mysterious evil that travels via natural sunlight.

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