YOUTH & JUNIOR AWARDS

See the world through the eyes of some of the most creative young minds behind the camera.

YOUTH

POPCORN

Director: Reuben Ellis Doran

‘Popcorn’ follows a fight between fictional comic characters Wonder Woman and Darth Vader initiated in a cinema after Wonder Woman defends her friend “Twink”. The characters find themselves in a trance fighting in surreal locations before ending up back where they started with the realisation of what they have done.

AUSTRALIA – 4:01 min

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Director: Zoe Vallance

‘The Butterfly Effect’ is a documentary that follows the life and experiences of Lucy Vallance, a deaf person. Through interviews with Lucy, she delves into the underlying struggles and isolation that many deaf people experience when living in a hearing world.

AUSTRALIA – 5:00 min

JUST LISTEN

Director: Sienna Aurora

Just Listen is a stylistic documentary exploring the identity of people with inattentive ADHD, specifically girls. The film follows the journey of a girl named Selena, who discusses her symptoms and speaks about the struggles she faces from societal pressures put upon her because of stigma surrounding the disorder. Even when asking a psychologist for help, she is left to deal with her problems by herself as she is ‘not struggling enough’. 

AUSTRALIA – 5:00 min

COPING

Director: Dan Paul

‘A short experimental film exploring the impacts of dealing with and the coping mechanisms used by people when dealing with stress and heightened emotions. The film aims to ask audiences how they best deal with stress in their own lives and whether or not that is healthy.

AUSTRALIA – 5:04 min

SPACE

Director: Eva Wenitong

Space poses a central question through multiple definitions of the word space: how do we as humans show each other we care?

AUSTRALIA – 2:12 min

SCHOOL BUSTERS

Director: Jasmine Sporre

This film is inspired by school struggles that students face thought their schooling journey. It is a satirical take with a bit of sarcastic comedy and dramatic takes on student’s thoughts and feelings in school and follows the story of trying to help the students pass through these emotions that causes them stress and problems. 

AUSTRALIA – 3:04 min

MR SOCK

Director: Leo Maliphan

An innocent sock who lives in a cruel world gets fired from his worthless job, he sets to find meaning in his existence.

AUSTRALIA – 3:19 min

IDENTITY

Director: Bianca Cheng

This short film follows a teenage boy trying to find his identity. Exploring themes of self-discovery and authenticity, the fluidity of identity and the impact of experiences and connections on shaping who we are.

AUSTRALIA – 2:01 min

FOUNDATION

Director: Jack Hinz

After experiencing the confronting realities of cow farming as a child, Anthony Walsgott abandoned his life as a lawyer to purchase a pristine 120-acre block on Queensland’s Mary River—a place which is now home to Australia’s largest cow sanctuary.

AUSTRALIA – 4:59 min

GONE FOREVER

Director: Talita Gitsham

Gone Forever, interrogates the truth about not living for now. This film follows a girl as she passes up the present in an attempt to reflect on her childhood, ironically harming her future. The stylistic film uses French Impressionist techniques such as superimposition, colour grading, representation of the character’s internal conflict, dissolves and archival footage to convey the deep reality of past desires.

AUSTRALIA – 3:04 min

DOOBIE DOG

Director: Tommy O’Sullivan-Roberts

On a regular walk, Tom’s dog eats something she shouldn’t. All accompanied by music from Femtanyl, used with written permission of the band!

AUSTRALIA – 0:44 min

WHO DO YOU SEE?

Director: Baran Akhavan

Scarlette (17) knows she’s not insane, and she’s terrified no one agrees. The people she sees, with lethal wounds, knives in the necks, and decaying, blue skin – They’re real, and they won’t leave her alone. The thriller short film “who do you see?” revolves around Scarlette’s life, as she begs for help and answers. 

AUSTRALIA – 3:22 min

FOLLOWED

Director: Jasmine Davidson, Byron Filmer

After finishing work Jess notices something strange. A car that she saw… As she leaves it follows her on her walk home. As the rain clouds approach, little does she know how bad things are about to get.

AUSTRALIA – 3:54 min

COLOUR

Director: Georgia Willis

A non narrative film exploring the relationship between humans and colour.

AUSTRALIA – 3:53 min

CONSTRUCTED

Director: Luvy Fa’aofo

Constructed is a non-narrative stylistic video that explores the jigsaw of our personal identities.

AUSTRALIA – 3:39 min

EVANESCENCE

Director: Isabella Ruby Grace Young

‘Evanescence’ has been influenced by the Experimental and Soviet Montage movements. Furthermore, my film will explore the breaking down of a romantic relationship between two young people and how people can start to lose their sense of self when in a relationship. 

AUSTRALIA – 3:29 min

THE STRETCH

Director: Pablo Wild

In the tropical backdrop of Port Douglas an old fisherman from the early days finds himself stranded in his changing town. Will he embrace the unfamiliar or continue to live in crabby desolation?

AUSTRALIA – 5:00 min

JUNIOR 13-15

REM

Director: Caroline Mudge

This is an animation about my dreams.

AUSTRALIA – o:54 min

THE SHADOW

Director: Dan Weston

The Shadow is an original short film featuring a girl being stalked by a looming presence in her own home.

AUSTRALIA – 2:00 min

TIME’S UP

Director: Kanisha Gomes

A teenage girl is at a party and she realises that she’s late and needs to get home in time to avoid getting in trouble with her parents. She ends up taking a shortcut through a cemetery…

AUSTRALIA – 1:59 min

JUNIOR – UNDER 12

WANDERLUST

Director: Hugo Wild

A young boy decides he is ready to leave home and explore the unknown. He knows to make shelter, find food and build warmth. But he starts to realise something is missing.

AUSTRALIA – 2:00 min

THE SUSPICIOUS DONUT

Director: Ken Nain

Things go haywire, when a suspicious looking donut decides to invade.

AUSTRALIA – 2:00 min

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Watch online 20 October – 31  November

Grab your popcorn and get cozy, because the snack-sized short film extravaganza kicks off at 6pm on Sunday, October 20!

You can catch all the 2024 films on our Virtual Platform, including the ‘Best of the Rest,’ streaming worldwide (as long as you’ve got an internet connection) until November 31.