FLiCKERFEST 2025 Award winners announced

Flickerfest concluded its annual short film festival with awards honouring entries from all over the world.
Hugo Oconner Sam Ferris Bryant - Marcia And The Shark

After a successful 10-day festival at Bondi, the 34th annual FLiCKERFEST International and Australian awards were announced this evening at a ceremony at Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach.

Attended by esteemed guests from the Australian film industry, filmmakers and jury, the Closing Night ceremony honoured the entrants in this year’s competition and FLiCKERFEST’s Academy® Qualifying Awards, including the Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film, Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animation, Panasonic LUMIX Award for Best Australian Short Film & Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary.

Following the ceremony, a selection of award-winning films screened before the Closing Night Party took place.

‘We are thrilled that the 34th Flickerfest 2025 has been such a success, with many filmmakers present to introduce their films, passionate crowds and great enthusiasm expressed for the programmes screened,’ said FLiCKERFEST’s Festival Director Bronwyn Kidd.

‘It’s been great to see short films so warmly embraced by audiences across our ten-day event. I would like to congratulate all of the films selected for Flickerfest in competition this year, our jury for their dedication and all of tonight’s award winners.’

Flickerfest 2025 Closing Night. Image Supplied.
Flickerfest 2025 Closing Night. Image supplied.

Flickerfest will now start a 40+ venue national tour to all states and territories across Australia.

And the winners are:

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS

Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film (Academy® Qualifying

‘Changing Rooms’  (France)
Writer/Director: Violette Gitton
Producer: Jules Reinartz

Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animated Short Film (Academy® Qualifying)

‘Beautiful Men’ (Belgium)
Writer/Director: Nicolas Keppens
Producer: Emmanuel Alain Raynal

Highly Commended International Animation

‘Maybe Elephants’ (Norway, Canada)
Director/Writer: Torill Kove
Producer: Lise Fernley, Maral Mohammadian, Tonje Skar Reiersen

EU in Australia Award for Best EU Short Film

‘The Boy With White Skin’  (France, Senegal)
Writer/Director: Simon Panay
Producers: Rafael Andrea Soatto, Laëtitia Denis, Kévin Rousseau, Souleymane Kébé, Maud Leclair-Névé

Flickerfest Special Jury Award

‘Ebb And Flow’ (Lebanon)
Director/Writer: Nay Tabbara
Producer: Isabelle Mecattaf

Special Mention of the Jury for International Short Film

‘A Summer’s End Poem’ (China)
Director/Writer/Producer: Lam Can-zhao
Writer: Yupeng He, Shutong Xu

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DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS

Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary Short Film (Academy® Qualifying)

‘Recomposing Earth’ (UK)
Director: Christian Cargill | Producers: Christian Cargill, John Bannister

Flickerfest Special Jury Award for Documentary Short

‘Nelson The Piglet’ (Netherlands)
Director: Anneke de Lind van Wijngaarden
Producers: Nienke Rispens, Maarten Kuit, Jeroen van den Idsert

Rainbow LGBTQI Competition award winners

Azure Productions Award for Best Rainbow Short

‘Holy Curse’ (United States)
Writer/Director/Producer: Snigdha Kapoor
Producer: Neeraj Churi

EU in Australia Award for Best EU Rainbow Short Film

‘Chico’ (France)
Writer/Director: Theo Abadie
Writer: Louise Courvoisier
Producer: Pauline Attal

Special mention of the jury for Rainbow Short Film

‘Dragfox’
Director: Lisa Ott
Producer: Owen Thomas

AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS

Panasonic LUMIX Award for Best Australian Short Film (Academy® Qualifying)

‘Marcia And The Shark’
Writer/Director: Sam Ferris Bryant
Writer/Producer: Hugo O’Connor

Spectrum Films Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film

Director: Riley Blakeway for â€˜A Thousand Odd Days’

Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animated Short Film

‘The Fix-It-Man And The Fix-It-Woman’
Director: Cornelius Ebatarinja, Nelson Armstrong
Writer: Rhonda Sharpe, Courtney Collins
Producer: Sophie Wallace

AFTRS Award for Best Screenplay in an Australian Short Film

Writer: Claudia Osborne for â€˜Rash’

John Barry Award for Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film

Cinematographer: Jason De Ford, Victor Ng for â€˜A Good Boy’

Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Short Film

Editor: Samuel Inglis for â€˜Not Yet’

Avid Award for Best Original Music in an Australian Short Film

Composer: Josh Barber for â€˜Asian Male, 60’s, Lead’

Rebel8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director in honour of Samantha Rebillet

Director: Sophie Serisier for â€˜Oi’

Highly Commended Outstanding Emerging Female Director 

Director: Claudia Osborne for â€˜Rash’

Specsavers Award for Best Australian Comedy Short Film

‘Over’
Director/Writer: Duncan Ragg, Anna Phillips | Producer: Isabella Debbage

FLiCKERUP YOUTH COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS

AFTRS FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Short Film
‘Bubblegum and Bunyips’
Director: Kellyville High School | Producer: Fabio Caprarelli

Yoram Gross FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Animated Short Film
‘The Apartment’

Director: Year 7 Doveton College Students | Producer Gene Geoffrey

Avid FlickerUp Award for Best Editing in A Youth Short Film
‘Mind The Gaps’

Writer/director: Lucia Carman Murray

Karma FlickerUp Jury Award for Youth Short Film
‘More Than Milk’

Writer/Dir/Prod: Abigail Rain Knight

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Silvi Vann-Wall is a journalist, podcaster, and filmmaker. They joined ScreenHub as Film Content Lead in 2022. Twitter: @SilviReports