2025 REEL FUTURES WINNERS & FINALISTS
🎬 Reel Futures 2025 – Winners Announcement 🎉
Celebrating the next generation of storytellers! 🌟
🌟 2025 Reel Futures Young Filmmaker Award – Pablo Wild 🌟
Pablo’s film “Enemies of Progress” is dedicated to his great-grandmother and captivated the judges with its originality and powerful storytelling.
As the recipient of the Young Filmmaker Award, Pablo represents the future of filmmaking — bold, thoughtful, and full of heart. 🎬💛
🏆 ShoutOut Award – Hudson Smith 🏆
His film “Insomniac” follows Harry Ansa, who has been killed 237 times in his dreams — or is it a dream? 👀 This clever, mind-bending story kept the audience guessing right until the end.
Hudson, from Cairns High School, won the ShoutOut Award after his film was chosen as the audience favourite by his peers. 🎥👏
🎭 16–18 Category Winner – Ella Williams 🎭
Her film “Dunny Problems” is a clever, comedic tale of an unlikely companionship formed between a senior citizen and a troublesome pet. 🐾 Ella describes her film as “a comment on and parody of the predictability of genre tropes under the guise of a sweet, comedic tale of unlikely companionship,” exploring the loneliness of widowed senior citizens within Australian society.
Ella is a 17-year-old student from regional Western Australia, and this was her very first film — what an incredible debut! 🎥👏
🎥 13–15 Category Winner – Elissa Gough 🎥
Her film “We’ll Fix It in Post” is a fictional re-enactment of how the crew made the film about the film — a playful, creative piece that had everyone smiling. 🎬
Elissa travelled all the way from Charters Towers to participate in the workshops and see her film on the big screen. 🌏✨
✨ 12 & Under Category Winner – Anna Malishivska ✨
Her powerful short film follows a ballet student who comes to a House of Culture destroyed by war. Amid the ashes and ruins, memories of peaceful life emerge — memories that cannot be erased. A dance arises, symbolising resistance, struggle, victory, and renewal. 🩰
Anna is a 12-year-old director and actress from Chernivtsi, Ukraine. She’s a pupil of the City Palace of Children and Youth and a Grand Prix winner of national and international art competitions. 🎥👏
2025 FINALIST FILMS
Dance for Life
Junior 13-15
Dance for Life
A student of a ballet studio comes to a House of Culture destroyed by war. Amid the ashes and ruins, memories of peaceful life emerge — memories that cannot be erased. A dance arises, as a symbol of resistance and struggle, of victory and renewal.
Director: Anna Malishivska
Country: Ukraine
Duration: 1:48 min
Cat & Fish
Junior – Under 12
Cat & Fish
A goldfish in a small container goes to a bigger pond with the help of a cat and the sun
Director: Nilram Ranjbar
Country: Iran
Duration: 2:00 min
We'll Fix it in Post
Junior 13-15
We’ll Fix it in Post
A fictional reenactment of how the crew made the film about the film.
Director: Elissa Fay Gough
Country: Australia
Duration: 3:00 min
The Blind Symphony
Junior 13-15
The Blind Symphony
A blind girl has a secret talent
Director: Kaleena Morris, Nina Decavalla, Kate Piquero
Country: Australia
Duration: 1:12 min
Osaka Slide
Junior 13-15
Osaka Slide
It’s mayhem on the streets of Tokyo!
Directors: Jaidyn Phung, Alexander Rose, Lachlan Cumming Country: Australia
Duration: 1:05 min
Pure White
Junior 13-15
Pure White
Fun facts about Polar Bears!
Director: Денис Юрьевна Малолеткин, Анна Чекулаева, Виктор Тавшунский, Екатерина Герасимова
Country: Russian Federation
Duration: 1:22 min
The Watched
Junior 13-15
The Watched
A girl is trapped in a dimension beyond her own
Directors: Charlotte Carter, Chloe Brooke
Country: Australia
Duration: 1:52 min
The Worst Movie Ever
Junior 13-15
The Worst Movie Ever
You would think that even the worst movies obey the rules of physics
Director: Lara Carruthers
Country: Australia
Duration: 0:59 min
Birdies
Junior 13-15
Birdies
inspired by watching famous clips from Hitchcock’s The Birds.
Directors: Franka Bogović, Oleksandr Saško Moskalov
Country: Croatia
Duration: 1:48 min
The Closet Crawler
Junior 13-15
The Closet Crawler
Don’t Go Into the Closet
Director: Kayla Cache, Skylah Campbell
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 1:02 min
Some Things never change
Junior 13-15
Some Things Never Change
Revisiting her childhood home, Diana relives old memories.
Director: Hannah Wilson, Juliette Wenitong
Country: Australia
Duration: 2:32 min
Bird Islet
Junior 13-15
Bird Islet
On the bird island, bird brood in peace. A visitor watches from afar and leaves, leaving nature untouched.
Director: Otto Tenusaar
Country: Estonia
Duration: 0:40 min
Sweatpants
Junior 13-15
Sweatpants
Sweatpants is about a single mom and her attempt at dating. The film looks at the reactions of the children. It is a comedic take on family interactions and relationships.
Directors: Holly Buchanan Haines, Nora Comeau
Country: Canada
Duration: 2:25 min
Blast Off
Junior 13-15
Blast Off
A short animation detailing the events leading up to a rocket launch.
Director: Baran Eftekhar
Country: Australia
Duration: 0:45 min
Garry The Great
Junior – Under 12
Garry The Great
Garry the lovebird is traveling around the world to find friends and the purpose of life.
Director: Eva V. Komarov
Country: United States, United States
Duration: 1:54 min
Brewman
Junior 16-18
Brewman
The explosive adventures of Brewman
Director: Laura Baranyi
Country: Australia
Duration: 0:30 min
On Repeat
Junior 16-18
On Repeat
An encounter between two strangers slowly unfolds and at first, nothing seems out of the ordinary, but as their conversation progresses, an eerie sense of unease begins to creep in.
Director: Penny Thamnopoulos
Country: Australia
Duration: 3:56 min
ORANDA
Junior 16-18
ORANDA
A hungry teenager gets grounded in her foodless house.
Director: Yvonne Li, Manuella Tang
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 4:03 min
Let Down
Junior 16-18
Let Down
Let Down portrays the effects of excessive pressure on teens to focus on the future while simultaneously being expected to define themselves and ‘make the most’ of their teen years.
Director: Zeke Kueckens
Country: Australia
Duration: 4:49 min
Forever.
Junior 16-18
Forever.
The life of a solitary robot worker changes as he meets the love of his life, resulting in a significant positive shift in his world perspective.
Director: John M Engledew
Country: Australia
Duration: 1:37 min
The Dogtor Will See You
Junior 16-18
The Dogtor Will See You
A teen girl keeps her feelings a secret from everyone including herself until an unconventional therapist helps her process her emotions.
Director: Lily Andrews
Country: United States
Duration: 2:00 min
Presence
Junior 16-18
Presence
The Presence is a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ suspenseful short film where the viewer can make their own choices that affect the outcome of the story.
Director: Saskia BAY STATE HIGH Whyte
Country: Australia
Duration: 4:23 min
The Writers Block
Junior 16-18
The Writers Block
Have you ever struggled to just write?
Director: Sophie Rose Schleimer-Newman
Country: Australia
Duration: 1:19 min
Tempter on the Cliff
Junior 16-18
Tempter on the Cliff
An adaptation of a story written by Saint Paisios where he describes his encounter with the devil on a cliff.
Director: Tom Jarvis Langdon
Country: Switzerland
Duration: 3:45 min
No Time to think of Consequences
Junior 16-18
No Time to think of Consequences
Temptations and Realizations
Director: Mya Singleton
Country: Australia
Duration: 3:18 min
Dunny Problems
Junior 16-18
Dunny Problems
A comedic genre-blending tale of an unlikely companionship formed between a senior citizen and a troublesome pet.
Director: Ella Williams
Country: Australia
Duration: 5:00 min
Half Yemeni Half German Half Fish
Junior 16-18
Half Yemeni Half German Half Fish
A supermutation, half woman, half fish finds on the shores of Tel Aviv the lost passport of Yotam, the half Yemeni, half German.
Directors: Elena Henne, Alon Bezaleli
Country: Israel
Duration: 3:11 min
I Promise To Stay Little Forever
Junior 16-18
I Promise To Stay Little Forever
“I Promise to Stay Little Forever”, is a poetic style film that explores the nostalgic feeling of growing up and looking back on childhood memories in the final year of high school
Director: Elke Osborne
Country: Australia
Duration: 4:38 min
Hashima
Junior 16-18
Hashima
Hashima is an experimental film exploring the interplay between environment and industry through visual metaphor, set to an original soundtrack.
Director: Liam Ferguson
Country: Australia
Duration: 3:34 min
The Frog and The Ox
Junior 16-18
The Frog and The Ox
A boastful frog who envies the size and strength of a mighty ox. Determined to prove she can be just as big, the frog inflates herself – both literally and figuratively – until pride leads to an unexpected twist.
Director: Mihail Metodiev
Country: Bulgaria
Duration: 2:07 min
Insomniac
Junior 16-18
Insomniac
Harry Ansa has been killed 237 times in his dreams, or is it a dream?
Director: Hudson Smith
Country: Australia
Duration: 5:00 min
Kinetic Connection
Junior 16-18
Kinetic Connection
A spark of friendship between two robots as they grow old together. This film shows that although we are different we can all get along, creating diverse and lifelong friendships.
Director: Hayden Best
Country: Australia
Duration: 3:05 min
FOOL
Junior 16-18
FOOL
Fool, a lonely girl who hides behind clown makeup, meets two girls at a café and unexpectedly finds friendship. As their bond grows, Fool begins to change, shedding the mask she’s worn for so long. But beneath the surface of this new connection, things aren’t quite what they seem.
Director: Ana Nadiradze
Country: Georgia
Duration: 4:43 min
The Master Mind
Junior 16-18
The Master Mind
A creature known as TMM The Master Mind took over another dying abandoned universe after escaping from it’s creator “Abnormality”.
Director: Jack Wood Bartley
Country: Australia
Duration: 1:58 min
Blow Ye Gentle Winds (Music video)
Junior 16-18
Blow Ye Gentle Winds (Music video)
“Inspired by the silent film era, a young woman struggles to live as her husband risks his life in World War I. Official music video for ‘Blow Ye Gentle Winds’, by Meadow Argus”
Director: Luke Dunlop
Country: Australia
Duration: 3:48 min
A Knights Quest
Junior 16-18
A Knights Quest
A Knights Quest is a video game, the main character Althea must travel many lengths to save the Princess from the evil clutches of Mossy Beard the Weed Wizard. Althea learns through her journey that becoming a knight you must earn the title while also facing a dark truth about her past.
Director: Jasmine Sporre
Country: Australia
Duration: 4:46 min
Cool Orange
Junior 16-18
Cool Orange
A young girl wakes to a strange orange glow, steps into a frozen world.
Director: Reed Hodgkinson
Country: Canada
Duration: 2:05 min
Enemies of Progress
Junior 16-18
Enemies of Progress
In 1910s Australia, a cane farmer hides two Aboriginal children who have fled a mission. When a determined tracker arrives, he is forced to choose between silence and survival.
Director: Pablo Wild
Country: Australia
Duration: 5:00 min
2025 Port Shorts Film Festival, Port Douglas, Australia