Best Of Australian Shorts
Friday 3rd Feb from 7pm for OPENING NIGHT PARTY

download Best Of Australian Shorts PDF programme here

Total Running Time: 113 mins
Session Rating: 15+
Show Date:
Sponsored by:
FISH & CHIPS (on Tour)

Running Time: 15min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
When 10 year old Pauline Hanson goes on Chef of the Universe to cook against culinary geniuses Barry, Kim and Vlad, she breaks the rules – and turns the whole world upside down.

Director: Anna Broinowski
Writer: Anna Broinowski
Producer: Steve Kearney & Leanne Tonkes

World Premiere

AFTER THE CREDITS (on Tour)

Running Time: 15min
Year: 2011
Format: DigiBeta
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
We've seen it a hundred times before- boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy
gets girl back, and they live happily ever after. Until the credits roll. And AFTER that, it's
a completely different story.

Director: Josh Lawson
Writer: Josh Lawson
Producer: Miranda Culley
Festivals:
Palm Springs Short Film Fest 2011 Official Selection

Awards:
Los Angeles International Short Film Festival 2011 Winner - Best Comedy
Australian Writer's Guild Awards 2011 Nominated - Best Original Screenplay
25th Village Roadshow Queensland New Filmmakers Awards Nominated - Best Drama

Australian Premiere

CROSSHAIRS (on Tour)

Running Time: 12min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
Beau and Jamie two brothers from a rural Western Australian town are caught poaching a lamb from a neighbouring property. When Beau refuses to go quietly his younger brother becomes a pawn in a violent showdown.

Director: Mike Hoath
Writer: Peter Templeman
Producer: Dan Wood

Australian Premiere

NULLARBOR (on Tour)

Running Time: 10min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
Brash young punk Bernie is desperate for a cigarette as he cruises across the vast and barren landscape of Australia's Nullarbor Plain; the longest, straightest stretch of road in the world. When he encounters cantankerous old Waddy in his rusty old jalopy, a contemporary road-rage 'tortoise and hare' story ensues.

Director: Alister Lockhart & Patrick Sarell
Writer: Alister Lockhart & Patrick Sarell
Producer: Katrina Mathers, Merrin Jensen, Patrick Sarell & Daryl Munton
Festivals:
Annecy International Animation Festival 2011
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2011

Awards:
Melbourne International Film Festival 2011 – Holmseglen Award for Best Animation Short Film
Palm Springs International ShortFest 2011 – Special Jury Award

THE OP SHOP (on Tour)

Running Time: 7min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
It came in a box. No name. No job description. Just a strange donation that three women at an op shop were determined to sell for $3.50. But then…and then again…and once more…they unlock the mystery.

Director: Lee Rogers
Writer: Christopher Gist
Producer: Lee Rogers, Christopher Gist & Paul Kooperman

World Premiere

TWO LAPS (on Tour)

Running Time: 5min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
Two Friends. One Race. Two Laps. No Prisoners.

Director: Owen Trevor
Writer: Owen Trevor
Producer: Lucas Jenner
Festivals:
SXSW; Sydney International Film Festival; Stockport Short Film Fest

FROM HERE (on Tour)

Running Time: 9min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
From Here explores the reality of facing death during the final conversation between a young man and his grandmother. This brief moment in time captures the ever-changing relationship between past and present and the disorientating experience of saying goodbye.

Director: Nick Waterman
Writer: Nick Waterman
Producer: Charlotte McLellan

World Premiere

COCKATOO (on Tour)

Running Time: 11min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
On the sixth month anniversary of his break-up with his ex-girlfriend, Michael decides
to celebrate by ordering a girl from an agency and tries to recreate his failed relationship. Sometimes it's best to let sleeping birds lie…

Director: Matthew Jenkin
Writer: Matthew Jenkin
Producer: Matthew Jenkin & Oliver Leimbach

World Premiere

BEAR (on Tour)

Running Time: 11min
Year: 2011
Format: 35mm
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
Jack means well, but sometimes good intentions have horrible consequences.

Director: Nash Edgerton
Writer: Nash Edgerton & David Michôd
Producer: Lauren Edwards & John Polson
Festivals:
BFI London Film Festival

Awards:
Cannes International Film Festival- Nominated for Palm d'Or for Best Short Film
Icebergs Dining Room & Bar Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film

PARIS LAKES (on Tour)

Running Time: 5min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
The new suburb of Paris Lakes has all the conveniences desired for modern living. It's an oasis in the endless sprawl between city and country. Put your roots down there and you'll stay forever.
Director: Robert Stephenson
Writer: Robert Stephenson
Producer: Robert Stephenson
Festivals:
Annecy International Animation Festival 2011

Australian Premiere

JULIAN (on Tour)

Running Time: 13min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: France
Synopsis:
Set in a year 4 classroom in 1981 Julian explores a day in the life of a 9 year old boy. Julian's need to speak his truth and his strong urge to do what he thinks is right begins to unravel his world. How does Julian deal with a bully an impatient teacher turning a blind eye and a Principal with a secret? As Julian faces these challenges we begin to see qualities emerge that will inform the man he is to become.

Director: Matthew Moore
Writer: Matthew Moore
Producer: Matthew Moore, Robert Jago
Awards:
Berlin International Film Festival 2012- Crystal Bear Nominee

World Premiere

GUS (only in Brisbane - outside of Sydney competition)

Running Time: 8min
Year: 2010
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
A "cave" boy and his father live a bleak life in the Swiss Alps, banished because of the boy's disruptive atulence, until one day his father reaches breaking point and sends the boy out into the cold, a decision that would change life forever...

Director: Andrew Martin
Writer: Andrew Martin
Producer: Andrew Martin
Festivals:
Monaco International Film Festival

Awards:
Village Roadshow QLD New Filmmakers Awards- Best Animation
First Glance Film Festival Philadelphia- Best Direction

Gus will only screening in Brisbane during the National Tour (this will be it's only venue on the tour, off the back of the competition screening in Bondi)

Short Laughs Comedy Saturday 4th Feb at 7pm

Chortle your way through a hilariously off-kilter selection of funny shorts.
download Short Laughs Comedy pdf programme here

Total Running Time: 98 mins
Session Rating: 15+

THE COLDEST CALLER

Running Time: 4min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
Mrs Evans wasn't expecting any visitors today...

Director: Joe Tucker
Writer: Joe Tucker
Producer: Jessica Levick
Festivals:
Palm Springs 2011; London Short Film Fest 2011; FantasticFest 2011; Sitges 2011

Australian Premiere

ZOLTAN: THE HUNGARIAN GANGSTER OF LOVE

Running Time: 14min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: USA
Synopsis:
A Felliniesque adventure centering on the Don Juan of a remote Hungarian Village during his daily quest to satisfy his lust for women. Fueled by music from the Hungarian psychedelic band ILLES, "Zoltan" offers a dip into the surreal, with a timeless black and white cinematic style that enhances its cast of offbeat characters as they swim in their world of absurdity.

Director: Justin Reardon
Writer: Justin Reardon
Producer: Barbara Reardon
Festivals:
Palm Springs Int'l Short Film Festival; Chicago Underground Film Festival; Raindance Film Festival

Australian Premiere

LA ÚLTIMA SECUENCIA

Running Time: 13min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Spain
Synopsis:
The late 1960s. In the Almería desert, a Spanish-Italian co-production is being filmed. The lack of resources and poor communication among the different members of the crew are on verge of runing the end of the film. They might just be saved by one shot/scene...

Director: Arturo Ruiz Serrano
Writer: Arturo Ruiz Serrano
Producer: Arturo Ruiz Serrano

Australian Premiere

NOREEN

Running Time: 18min
Year: 2010
Format: Video
Country: Ireland
Synopsis:
Two policemen learn life lessons on a house-call in rural Ireland; Frank is young and heartbroken… Con is middle-aged and weary…They're both alone. They're both idiots.

Director: Domhnall Gleeson
Writer: Domhnall Gleeson
Producer: Juliette Bonass, Ciarin Deeney, David Clarke

THE CHAMPIONS

Running Time: 11min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Singapore
Synopsis:
Each of the Champions is quite attracted to the lovely new neighbor next door. When they discover he is an exorcist, they devise their own unique brand of demons to entice him into their home.

Director: Gilani Sumida-Moiseff
Writer: Gilani Sumida-Moiseff
Producer: Sherman Lai
Festivals:
Palm Springs International ShortFest

Australian premiere

BALDGUY

Running Time: 12min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Norway
Synopsis:
A story about a young man's quest for love and acceptance, all in a lively musical film about being yourself and loving whoever you want. This is a film about forbidden and boundless love and the risk of losing everything when your choice is head on with the morally accepted.

Director: Maria Bock
Writer: Lars Jacobsen & Maria Bock
Producer: Tomas Evjen
Awards:
2011 Aspen Shortsfest: BAFTA/LA Award for Best Short Film
2011 Uppsala International Short Film Festival: Special Mention
2011 Brest European Short Film Festival: Prix des Passeurs de Courts
2011 Frameline - San Francisco Int'l LGBT Film Festival: Frameline35 AT&T Audience Award, Best Short

THE WINKING BOY

Running Time: 14min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: Australia
Synopsis:
Communicating only by winking, Martin enjoys a lifestyle of pampering at Calm Springs Rehabilitation Center, having fooled everyone into believing he is completely paralyzed. However everything changes when a mysterious new nurse starts working at the center.

Director: Marcus Dineen
Writer: Alan King
Producer: Alan King & Marcus Dineen
Festivals:
Moscow International Film Festival 2011

Awards:
Amsterdam Film Festival 2011- Best Comedy Award
Las Vegas Film Festival 2011- Best Screenplay Award

Australian Premiere

DAS TUB

Running Time: 5min
Year: 2011
Format: Video
Country: New Zealand
Synopsis:
Lost in the frozen depths of the Atlantic a German U-Boat crew find themselves on a collision course with objects stranger than they can fathom. The truth leaves them bathed in confusion in this submarine drama of domestic proportions. Switching back and forth across two parallel realities, the main protagonists unwittingly hurtle themselves into a collision of scatological ramifications.

Director: James Cunningham
Writer: Nick Ward
Producer: Nick Ward
Festivals:
Siggraph Asia 2010 Seoul

Australian Premiere

BAD NIGHT FOR THE BLUES

Running Time: 15min
Year: 2010
Format: Video
Country: United Kingdom
Synopsis:
Blues rinses, portraits of the queen and stand up bingo. Chris Shepherd delves into his past and recalls the world of his Aunty Glad and her local Conservative Club. The hues of blue that make up the Tory heartland are more than just a party - they are a state of mind.

Director: Chris Shepherd
Writer: Chris Shepherd
Producer: Maria Manton
Awards:
Winner of the International Canal+ Award at Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival 2011