Very Short Film Festival prize winners announced

The 4th annual Very Short Film Festival has concluded for another year, celebrating films with a runtime between 2-5 minutes.

The festival’s Premiere Screening Event was held on 31 May 2024 at the State Cinema in Hobart, lutriwita/Tasmania, with films that explored this year’s theme ‘Spark’.

Here are the winners of the event:

2024 Very Short Film Festival Award Winners: 

Open Category 

• First place – Kea Gargiulo for Shkëndijë (Tas) 
• Second place – Grace Quealy for The Something (Vic) 
• Third place – Jane Hamilton-Foster for Loop (Tas) 

Junior Category 

• First place – Ruby & Stella Kurzel for JACHELT (Tas) 
• Second place – Hayden Best for Kinetic Connection (NSW) 
• Third place – Adi Bocman & Asher Vogel for Amor Fati (NSW)

The Audience Award, presented by VSFF ambassador Leah Purcell, also went to Gargiulo for Shkëndijë, showing a resonance between the judges’ and audience’s favourites. 

‘Making Shkëndijë for the VSFF has installed in me a grounding tolerance for uncertainty, backing of self-belief, and a lot of gumption,’ said first place winner, Gargiulo. ‘I share this win with everyone involved in the making of our film and with all participants: because committing to create a short film from start to finish is the biggest success.’ 

Read: Where to submit your short film (and get it seen)

A representative of the festival said that the showcased films were of ‘outstanding quality, reflecting the diverse and remarkable talent of young and emerging filmmakers across Australia’. Each story presented ‘unique perspectives’ and explored significant themes including mental health, dementia, domestic violence, and friendship. 

‘The Very Short Film Festival enables people who don’t have access to, or the networks in the film industry, to make or get seen by people,’ said David Balfour, a judge on the festival panel. ‘To have conversations and communities for makers that contribute to developing more interesting stories as a nation, and more interesting filmmakers from across the whole country. That’s a powerful thing.’

The official ceremony included screenings of the judges’ top 12 films – seven in the Open category and five in the Junior category, with Matilda Boseley from The Guardian, who MC’ed the evening.

The Very Short Film Festival supports emerging filmmakers by offering free entry, a dedicated Junior category, and prizes that include a mentoring workshop from Australian industry leaders such as Leah Purcell, an acclaimed actor, writer and filmmaker, and Justin Kurzel, award-winning Australian director. Additional prizes include cash awards, and fully funded trips to the Premiere Event Screening in Tasmania. 

The Very Short Film Festival is proudly presented by Artology, an independent Arts non-profit, committed to championing the Australian creative community.