Flickerfest is an international

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

held annually in January at

Bondi Beach Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Easter ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. It is an

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and BAFTA recognised short film festival for both international and

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makers.

History

The festival originated as a small, local festival at Balmain

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in 1991. It has premiered an increasingly broader range of international short films since its establishment. In 2003, Flickerfest was recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to qualify for Best Animation and Best Short Film categories of the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. In 2010, the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BAFTA) recognised that if a film from the UK won a category at Flickerfest, the film then became eligible for a BAFTA nomination. In 2013, Flickerfest received

accreditation for the Australian competition and in 2014 the Documentary section of the festival received Academy accreditation. Since 1991, Flickerfest has grown substantially. By 2018, the festival had grown to include 22 programmes shown, over 2,500 entries and 100 international shorts being showcased at the event. In 2020 Flickerfest was impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 Januar ...

. Flickerfest Canberra was due to run in April but was postponed. Bondi Flickerfest 2021, the 30th anniversary event is scheduled for 22–31 January. It will be run in a COVID-19 safe manner.

Management

Bronwyn Kidd is the festival's director as of 2018. Kidd curates several hundred short films for the annual event, and the following national tour. She also contributes to the curation of international film festivals such as The London Australian Film Festival at The Barbican. Flickerfest's production and tour manager is Shane Rennie, who has been involved in the

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of Flickerfest since 2000. Rennie is involved in

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population, technical presentation, festival production, and festival

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

, and is also a member of the Flickerfest selection committee. Since 2005, he has organised the Flickerfest National Tour, working directly with venues that the tour will be held at to establish dates, media and online strategies, programme suggestions, and logistics. Leigh Russell is the

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Liaison and primary coordinator of the 2018 Flickerfest jury and FlickerUp, a nationwide competition for primary and high school students.

Entry requirements and eligibility

For films to be eligible to be shown in Flickerfest they must meet the entry requirements are: * All short films should not exceed 35 minutes. * The film must be completed within two years of the closure of the entry date. * Films must either be in English or be provided with English subtitles. * All films must be compatible with the

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format. * With exception to other Australian festivals that are

qualifying, Flickerfest favours Australian films that are Australian premieres. * International short films are favoured if it is their Australian premiere. * Before the beginning of the competition, all films must not be available to access on the internet or broadcast throughout Australia.

Programmes

Throughout the duration of the festival, short films are showcased that are of a competitive and non-competitive nature. These films are presented in eight different categories. * Best of Australian – The category showcases the films short listed for the Academy accredited award "Best Australian Short Film". In 2018, there were seven separate screenings of the competition, ranging between seven and nine individual films every screening. * Best of International – The category shows international films in competition for the awards; Best Short Animation and Best Short Drama which are both

accredited awards. In 2018, the programme was separated into five parts, premiering seven films in each screening. * FlickerKids – This section of the festival is non-competitive. It showcases films that are "delightfully entertaining" and that will "appeal to the kid in everyone”. In 2018, 11 films were shown in this category with only one screening. * Best of Documentary – The category showcases the films short listed for the Academy accredited award "Best Documentary Short Film". In 2018, there were two separate screening of the competition, with seven films being shown in each individual screening. * Best of EU Shorts – A non-competitive section of the festival. It showcases shorts that are "moving and entertaining" that are drawn from within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. In 2018, the programme was showcased in two sections with seven films shown in each part. * Short Laughs Comedy – This category of the festival is non-competitive. It showcases international "hilarious off-kilter" shorts. In 2018, the section was shown in two sections with ten films shown in each section. * FlickerUp – This category showcases the finalists of the national competition for

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and

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aged students or individuals under the age of 18. In 2018, the section consisted of 22 short films. * Rainbow Shorts – A non-competitive section that celebrates international

LGBTQI ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

stories. The section premiered in 2018 with seven films in the programme.

Tour

The Flickerfest national tour was established in 1995. The tour consists of the central competitive programmes of the festival which include Best of Australian Shorts, Best of International Shorts and Shorts Laugh Comedy. The tour travels to rural, regional and metropolitan areas, to showcase the shorts. Flickerfest showcase short films at 50 venues throughout Australia. The Adelaide showing is at the

Mercury Cinema Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street, Adelaide, Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Austral ...

. The Flickerfest Tour has been publicised in regional and rural local newspapers. The ''Clarence Daily Examiner'' writes that the tour brings a "new arsenal of hilarious entertaining and thought-provoking micro cinema from across the country". The ''Newcastle Herald'' talks of local filmmaker's work being "brought to the big screen." The ''Illawarra Mercury'' writes on the local Kiama short film ''Buoy'' being selected to be shown in the Flickerfest Tour. The ''Wauchope Gazette'' reports the tour visiting Port Macquarie, the article primarily focuses upon the animation ''Lost Property Office'' and short film ''Miro'', an Aboriginal Western film, describing the short to be "delightfully quirky and creative".

Awards

International Competition Awards

A listing of the awards given for international competition: * Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film: Academy Accredited * Special Jury Prize: Best International Short Film * Yoram Gross award for Best International Short Animation: Academy Accredited * SAE Creative Media Institute Award for Best Use of Digital Technology in a Short Film * Flickerfest Award for Best Short Documentary Film: Academy Accredited * Special Mention for Documentary * European Union delegation in Australia Best EU Short Film

Australian Competition Awards

Australian-focused awards include the following: * Virgin Australia Award for Best Australian Short Film: Academy Accredited * Media Super Award for Best Screenplay in an Australian Short Film * Canon Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film * Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Short Animation * John Barry Award for Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film * Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Short Film * Flickerfest Award for Best Performance in an Australian Short Film * Rebel8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director

Previous winners

International Awards

Australian Awards

Other notable films

Some other notable short films honoured in other awards categories include: * '' A Black and White World'' (2005) * ''

The Last Dog in Rwanda ''The Last Dog in Rwanda'' is a Sweden, Swedish short narrative film from 2006 directed and written by Jens Assur. It was Assur's debut both as a writer and a director. Festivals and awards Tribeca Film Festival, USABest Short Narrative2007 Ext ...

'' (2006) * ''

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'' (2007) * '' Hole in the Paper Sky'' (2008) * '' The Six Dollar Fifty Man'' (2009) * ''

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'' (2011) * '' Little Hands (film)'' (2011) * ''

Julian (film) ''Julian'' is a 2012 Australian short film written and directed by Matthew Moore. The film is set in a 1981 classroom. It explores a day in the life of a nine-year-old Julian Assange, played by a then-unknown Ed Oxenbould. ''Julian'' won a Fl ...

'' (2012) * '' Dumpy Goes to the Big Smoke'' (2012)

Partners

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

is Flickerfest's major government partner, while other industry partners are the

SAE Institute The SAE Institute (SAE, formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit college with campuses and facilities, including license ...

Australia: Creative Media Education, Create

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City of Film,

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

's Delegation to Australia and

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. Touring partners in other states and territories are Screen

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, Screen

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and Screen

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. Award Partners include the SAE Institute, Virgin Australia, Canon, Yoram Gross Films, the EU Delegation to Australia, John Barry Sales, Avid, Media Super and Parker's Juicery. Flickerfest's media partners include

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, Brag magazine, The Beast Magazine, 2ser 107.3, Concrete Playground, City Hub and Film Ink.

Media reception

The ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' conducted an interview with festival director Bronwyn Kidd in relation to gender parity. Kidd states "When I started out, female directors were a rare breed. Now hopefully we're encouraging a whole new generation to come into the industry." ''Broadsheet, Sydney'' gave a synopsis of the festivals proceedings, stating "Australia's a great country of storytellers. The list of films on show t the festivalhas been narrowed down from over 2500 to 110.” The article also highlights the benefits of short film writing “ hort films areso contemporary. A feature can take seven years from start to finish, ora short you can grab a camera and in two weeks you make a statement.” ''The Brag'' wrote that "Flickerfest is unique in that the judging process doesn’t take the entrant’s budget into consideration – films are instead judged against the strength of the storytelling and the authenticity of the director’s voice."

Gallery

Opening night photos from the 2013 event: File:Dr Chris Brown (8369363653).jpg,

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

File:James Tobin (Australian television presenter).jpg,

James Tobin James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He devel ...

File:Wes Carr (8369362861).jpg,

Wes Carr Wesley Dean "Wes" Carr (born 14 September 1982), also recording as Buffalo Tales, is an Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for winning the sixth season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2008. He released his first studi ...

File:Flickerfest (8370430792).jpg

References

External links

* {{Official website, flickerfest.com.au Australian film awards Short film festivals in Australia Film festivals in Sydney