The team behind the Shot on Shit Film Festival 2026, taking place on 16 October at the Botany View Hotel in Newtown, has announced record attendance for this year’s show, growing over three times since its last instalment.
What’s notable is that Shot on Shit aims to spotlight deliberately hand-made, low budget short films made with older equipment, small teams and shonky means.
In a world where there’s an increasing focus on the perceived ‘polish’ provided by new technology, the enthusiasm behind the Shot on Shit Film Festival is extremely interesting, and validating for those who champion pure creativity.
Shot on Shit Film Festival announces record attendance – quick links
What to know about the Shot on Shit Film Festival
As the team says, the record attendance for the Shot on Shit Film Festival is a clear sign that people value creativity and ingenuity over fancy equipment or shortcutting technology. It’s not the method of creation that’s most interesting, but the ideas that shine through the shit.
‘We are absolutely blown away by the response to the festival,’ Parker Constantine, Festival Programmer and Co-Founder says.
‘We got up on the Botany View stage and immediately felt the love and support of a beautiful, burgeoning, wildly eager community of filmmakers and lovers alike. Shot On Shit gives me hope for the third wave of the Australian film industry, which feels firmly in the grasp of us young, cheap, bastards!’
‘We have never seen this level of excitement for short films before,’ says Flynn Boffo, Programmer and Co-Founder.
‘There is something special about spontaneously making films over a weekend with your friends. Not only were the films exceptional, there was also a profound sense of love and belonging in the room.’
The event sold out in under an hour, across three waves of ticket releases. 220 visitors turned up to the Botany View Hotel, packing it out in celebration of good films made with shit. As the team says, it was the clearest sign they’ve ever had that ‘people want to gather around and watch cool shit (that’s fittingly shot on shit).’
As well as the event being sold out, attendees also reportedly sold out copies of the showcased films, delivered on special edition, limited run VHS tapes and DVDs.
Shot on Shit Film Festival winners announced
As well as being a celebration of low-budget short films, the Shot on Shit Film Festival also awarded prizes to entrants, with a focus on elevating thrifty, clever films and celebrating their ingenuity.
The grand prize of the 2026 festival went to Wollongong filmmakers Jack Tickner, Fenn Idle and Corey McCrossin for their short film Young Boy Plays with Ooshies at the Pyramids but is Interrupted by an Alien Who Wants to Destroy Planet Earth, shot on a 2000s flip phone.
As noted, the team also ‘further embodied the spontaneous expressiveness of the festival with an impromptu live performance of their film’s song during the intermission.’
Here’s the rest of the prize winners:
Second Prize
Film: Shot on Piss
Creatives: Eve Krombas
Third Prize
Film: Taint Calico Blues
Creatives: Jackson Perryman
People’s Choice (chosen by audience vote)
Film: Conversations
Creatives: Helena Ivy Williams
Person’s Choice (chosen by a randomly selected audience member)
Film: Pizard Worn
Creatives: Dexter Gibson-Cummins and Jesse Grima
The S.O.S. Award (chosen by Flynn and Parker)
Film: Pizard Worn
Creatives: Dexter Gibson-Cummins and Jesse Grima
The E.P.I.C. Award (emerging perspective in cinema)
Film: A Night at Epic Pizza
Creatives: Charlie Blomfield
