Wikipedia

Flickerfest

Flickerfest is an international short film festival held annually in January at Bondi Beach, Sydney. It is an Academy and BAFTA recognised short film festival for both international and Australian film makers.[1]

Flickerfest opens at Bondi Pavilion on 11 January 2013.

History

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Isabelle Cornish at the festival's opening night with Bondi Beach in the background.

The festival originated as a small, local festival at Balmain High School in 1991. It has premiered an increasingly broader range of international short films since its establishment.[1]

In 2003, Flickerfest was recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to qualify for Best Animation and Best Short Film categories of the Academy Awards.[1]

In 2010, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) recognised that if a film from the UK won a category at Flickerfest, the film then became eligible for a BAFTA nomination.[1]

In 2013, Flickerfest received Academy accreditation for the Australian competition and in 2014 the Documentary section of the festival received Academy accreditation.[1]

Since 1991, Flickerfest has grown substantially. By 2018, the festival had grown to include 22 programmes shown, over 2,500 entries and 100 international shorts being showcased at the event.[2]

In 2020 Flickerfest was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Flickerfest Canberra was due to run in April but was postponed.[3]

Bondi Flickerfest 2021, the 30th anniversary event is scheduled for 22–31 January.[4] It will be run in a COVID-19 safe manner.[5]

Management

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Bronwyn Kidd is the festival's director as of 2018. Kidd curates several hundred short films for the annual event, and the following national tour. She has also contributed to the curation of international film festivals such as the former London Australian Film Festival at The Barbican.[6]

Flickerfest's production and tour manager is Shane Rennie, who has been involved in the production of Flickerfest since 2000. Rennie is involved in web population, technical presentation, festival production, and festival photography, and is also a member of the Flickerfest selection committee.[1] Since 2005, he has organised the Flickerfest National Tour, working directly with venues that the tour will be held at to establish dates, media and online strategies, programme suggestions, and logistics.[7][1]

Leigh Russell is the Industry Liaison and primary coordinator of the 2018 Flickerfest jury and FlickerUp, a nationwide competition for primary and high school students.[8]

Entry requirements and eligibility

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For films to be eligible to be shown in Flickerfest they must meet the entry requirements are:

  • All short films should not exceed 35 minutes.
  • The film must be completed within two years of the closure of the entry date.
  • Films must either be in English or be provided with English subtitles.
  • All films must be compatible with the H.264 or ProRes format.
  • With exception to other Australian festivals that are Academy qualifying, Flickerfest favours Australian films that are Australian premieres.
  • International short films are favoured if it is their Australian premiere.
  • Before the beginning of the competition, all films must not be available to access on the internet or broadcast throughout Australia.[9]

Programmes

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Throughout the duration of the festival, short films are showcased that are of a competitive and non-competitive nature. These films are presented in eight different categories.

  • Best of Australian – The category showcases the films short listed for the Academy accredited award "Best Australian Short Film". In 2018, there were seven separate screenings of the competition, ranging between seven and nine individual films every screening.[10]
  • Best of International – The category shows international films in competition for the awards; Best Short Animation and Best Short Drama which are both Academy accredited awards. In 2018, the programme was separated into five parts, premiering seven films in each screening.[11]
  • FlickerKids – This section of the festival is non-competitive. It showcases films that are "delightfully entertaining" and that will "appeal to the kid in everyone”.[12] In 2018, 11 films were shown in this category with only one screening.[12]
  • Best of Documentary – The category showcases the films short listed for the Academy accredited award "Best Documentary Short Film". In 2018, there were two separate screening of the competition, with seven films being shown in each individual screening.[13]
  • Best of EU Shorts – A non-competitive section of the festival. It showcases shorts that are "moving and entertaining" that are drawn from within the European Union.[14] In 2018, the programme was showcased in two sections with seven films shown in each part.[14]
  • Short Laughs Comedy – This category of the festival is non-competitive. It showcases international "hilarious off-kilter" shorts.[15] In 2018, the section was shown in two sections with ten films shown in each section.[15]
  • FlickerUp – This category showcases the finalists of the national competition for primary and secondary school aged students or individuals under the age of 18. In 2018, the section consisted of 22 short films.[16]
  • Rainbow Shorts – A non-competitive section that celebrates international LGBTQI stories.[17] The section premiered in 2018 with seven films in the programme.[17]

Tour

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Gigi Edgley at Flickerfest launch night in the Bondi Icebergs Club.

The Flickerfest national tour was established in 1995. The tour consists of the central competitive programmes of the festival which include Best of Australian Shorts, Best of International Shorts and Shorts Laugh Comedy. The tour travels to rural, regional and metropolitan areas, to showcase the shorts.[18] Flickerfest showcase short films at 50 venues throughout Australia.[18] The Adelaide showing is at the Mercury Cinema.[19]

The Flickerfest Tour has been publicised in regional and rural local newspapers. The Clarence Daily Examiner writes that the tour brings a "new arsenal of hilarious entertaining and thought-provoking micro cinema from across the country".[20] The Newcastle Herald talks of local filmmaker's work being "brought to the big screen."[21] The Illawarra Mercury writes on the local Kiama short film Buoy being selected to be shown in the Flickerfest Tour.[22] The Wauchope Gazette reports the tour visiting Port Macquarie, the article primarily focuses upon the animation Lost Property Office and short film Miro, an Aboriginal Western film, describing the short to be "delightfully quirky and creative".[23]

Awards

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International Competition Awards

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A listing of the awards given for international competition:[24]

  • Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film: Academy Accredited
  • Special Jury Prize: Best International Short Film
  • Yoram Gross award for Best International Short Animation: Academy Accredited
  • SAE Creative Media Institute Award for Best Use of Digital Technology in a Short Film
  • Flickerfest Award for Best Short Documentary Film: Academy Accredited
  • Special Mention for Documentary
  • European Union delegation in Australia Best EU Short Film

Australian Competition Awards

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Australian-focused awards include the following:[24]

  • Virgin Australia Award for Best Australian Short Film: Academy Accredited
  • Media Super Award for Best Screenplay in an Australian Short Film
  • Canon Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film
  • Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Short Animation
  • John Barry Award for Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film
  • Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Short Film
  • Flickerfest Award for Best Performance in an Australian Short Film
  • Rebel8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director

Previous winners

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International Awards

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Winners of the Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film
Year Film Director Nationality
1997 81 Stephen Burke   Ireland[25]
1998 81 Stephen Burke   Ireland[25]
2002 In Search of Mike Andrew Lancaster   Australia[26]
2003 Golden Gate (Palace II) Kátia Lund, Fernando Meirelles   Brazil[27]
2004 Malcolm Baker Karim   Sweden[28]
2005 The Scree Paul McDermott, Justine Kerrigan   Australia[29]
2007 Small Boxes Rene Hernandez   USA[30]
2008 Pop Foul Moon Molson   USA[31]
2009 Dennis Mads Matthiesen   USA[32]
2010 The Six Dollar Fifty Man Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland   New Zealand[33]
2011 ¿Donde está Kim Basinger? Edouard Deluc   France[34]
2012 Je pourrais être votre grand-mère Bernard Tanguy   France[35]
2013 Tiger Boy Gabriele Mainetti   Italy[36]
2014 Summer Vacation Tal Granit, Sharon Maymon   Israel[37]
2015 Oh Lucy Atsuko Hirayanagi   Japan,  USA[38]
2016 Balcony Toby Fell-Holden   UK[39]
2017 Ungar (Cubs) Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir   Iceland[40]
2018 The World in Your Window Zoe McIntosh   New Zealand[41]
2019 Phone Duty Lenar Kamalov   Russia[42]
Winners of the Yoram Gross Award for the Best International Short Animation
Year Film Director Nationality
2010 The Cat Piano Eddie White, Ari Gibson   Australia[33]
2011 The External World David O'Reilly   Germany,   Ireland[43]
2012 It's Such a Beautiful Day Don Hertzfeldt   USA[44]
2013 Edmond Was a Donkey Franck Dion   France,   Canada[45]
2014 Miniyamba Luc Perez   Denmark[46]
2015 Symphony No. 42 Réka Bucsi   Hungary[38]
2016 He Who Has Two Souls / Celui Qui a Deux Âmes Fabrice Luang-Vija   France[39]
2017 Mr. Madila Rory Waudby-Tolley   UK[40]
2018 Sog Jonatan Schwenk   Germany[41]
2019 Flowing Through Wonder Joana Lurie and Jean–Marc Bouzigues   France[42]
Winners of the Flickerfest Best International Short Documentary Film
Year Film Director Nationality
2010 Wagah Supriyo Sen   Germany[33]
2011 The Lucky Ones (Szczesciarze) Tomasz Wolski   Poland[34]
2012 Cutting Loose Adrian McDowall, Finlay Napier   UK[47]
2013 Crossed Out Robert Duarte   Sweden[45]
2014 SloMo Josh Izenberg   USA[46]
2015 Shipwreck Morgan Knibbe   The Netherlands[38]
2016 A Tale of Love, Madness and Death Mijael Bustos   Chile[39]
2017 Więzi (Close Ties) Zofia Kowalewska   Poland[40]
2018 Hello Salaam Kim Brand   The Netherlands[41]
2019 The Unconditional Dave Adams   United States[42]

Australian Awards

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Winners of the Virgin Australia Award for Best Australian Short Film
Year Film Director
2010 Celestial Avenue Colin and Cameron Cairnes[33]
2011 The Lost Thing Andrew Ruhemann, Shaun Tan[34]
2012 The Palace Anthony Maras[48]
2013 Yardbird Michael Spiccia[49]
2014 The Kingdom of Doug Victoria Thaine[46]
2015 Grey Bull Eddy Bell[38]
2016 Slingshot David Hansen[39]
2017 Beast Carl J Sorheim[40]
2018 On Hold Jake Nielsen[41]
2019 Yulubidyi - Until the End Nathan Mewett and Curtis Taylor[42]
Winners of the Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Short Animation
Year Film Director
2015 Bush Mechanics Jason Japaljarri Woods, Jonathan Daw[38]
2016 The Orchestra Mikey Hill[39]
2017 Fish with Legs Dave Carter[40]
2018 After All Michael Cusack[41]
2019 Della Mortika: Carousel Of Shame Marisa Martin[42]
Winners of the Canon Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film
Year Film Director
2015 Snowblind Sean Kruck[38]
2016 Red Rover Brooke Goldfinch[39]
2017 Dream Baby Lucy Gaffy[40]
2018 Second Best Alyssa McClelland[41]
2019 Tangles and Knots Renée Marie Petropoulos[42]

Other notable films

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Some other notable short films honoured in other awards categories include:

Partners

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Screen Australia is Flickerfest's major government partner, while other industry partners are the SAE Institute Australia: Creative Media Education, Create NSW, Sydney City of Film, Canon, European Union's Delegation to Australia and Virgin Entertainment. Touring partners in other states and territories are Screen Territory, Screen Queensland and Screen West. Award Partners include the SAE Institute, Virgin Australia, Canon, Yoram Gross Films, the EU Delegation to Australia, John Barry Sales, Avid, Media Super and Parker's Juicery. Flickerfest's media partners include TimeOut, Brag magazine, The Beast Magazine, 2ser 107.3, Concrete Playground, City Hub and Film Ink.

Media reception

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The Sydney Morning Herald conducted an interview with festival director Bronwyn Kidd in relation to gender parity. Kidd states "When I started out, female directors were a rare breed. Now hopefully we're encouraging a whole new generation to come into the industry."[50]

Broadsheet, Sydney gave a synopsis of the festivals proceedings, stating "Australia's a great country of storytellers. The list of films on show [at the festival] has been narrowed down from over 2500 to 110.”[51] The article also highlights the benefits of short film writing “[Short films are] so contemporary. A feature can take seven years from start to finish, [for] a short you can grab a camera and in two weeks you make a statement.”[51]

The Brag wrote that "Flickerfest is unique in that the judging process doesn’t take the entrant’s budget into consideration – films are instead judged against the strength of the storytelling and the authenticity of the director’s voice."[52]

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Opening night photos from the 2013 event:

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "| History". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  2. ^ "| Directors Welcome". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Flickerfest postponed until later in the year". bmamag.com. BMA Magazine. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Programme 2021". flickerfest.com.au. Flickerfest. December 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  5. ^ "COVID-Safe". flickerfest.com.au. Flickerfest Pty Ltd. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  6. ^ "The London Australian Film Festival At The Barbican". Australian Film Commission (archived). Screen Australia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  7. ^ "| Tour". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  8. ^ "| FlickerUp". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  9. ^ "| How To Enter 2019". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  10. ^ "| Best Of Australian 1 – 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  11. ^ "| Best Of International 1 – 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  12. ^ a b "| FlickerKids 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  13. ^ "| Best Of Documentary 1 – 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  14. ^ a b "| Best Of EU Shorts 1 – 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  15. ^ a b "| Short Laughs Comedy 1 – 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  16. ^ "| SAE FlickerUp 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  17. ^ a b "| Rainbow Shorts 2018". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  18. ^ a b "| Tour". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Adelaide". Flickerfest. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  20. ^ Apps, Lesley. "Flickerfest to light up Saraton's big screen". Grafton Daily Examiner. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  21. ^ Gregory, Helen (11 February 2018). "Flickerfest celebrates homegrown success". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  22. ^ Savage, Desiree (19 March 2018). "Kiama shark tale Buoy tours Australia with film festival: video". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Flickerfest film roadshow heads for Hastings". Wauchope Gazette. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  24. ^ a b "Flickerfest 2018 Hands Out the Awards | FilmInk". www.filmink.com.au. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  25. ^ a b 81, retrieved 23 October 2018
  26. ^ "Flickerfest International Short Film Festival (2002)". IMDb. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  27. ^ Golden Gate (Palace II), retrieved 23 October 2018
  28. ^ Malcolm, retrieved 23 October 2018
  29. ^ The Scree, retrieved 23 October 2018
  30. ^ Small Boxes, retrieved 23 October 2018
  31. ^ Pop Foul, retrieved 23 October 2018
  32. ^ Dennis, retrieved 23 October 2018
  33. ^ a b c d "Flickerfest announces winners". IF Magazine. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  34. ^ a b c "Flickerfest winners announced". IF Magazine. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  35. ^ Je pourrais être votre grand-mère, retrieved 23 October 2018
  36. ^ Tiger Boy, retrieved 23 October 2018
  37. ^ "| 2014 Flickerfest winners". The Music. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  38. ^ a b c d e f "| 24th FLICKERFEST AWARDS ANNOUNCED". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  39. ^ a b c d e f "| WINNERS OF THE 25th ANNUAL FLICKERFEST 2016 AWARDS ANNOUNCED". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  40. ^ a b c d e f "| FLiCKERFEST 2017 Awards Announcement…!". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  41. ^ a b c d e f "| 2018 Awards". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  42. ^ a b c d e f "| 2019 Awards". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  43. ^ The External World, retrieved 23 October 2018
  44. ^ It's Such a Beautiful Day, retrieved 23 October 2018
  45. ^ a b "Yardbird wins 2013 Flickerfest Award for Best Australian Short Film". IF Magazine. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  46. ^ a b c "| Flickerfest 2014 Awards Announced". flickerfest.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  47. ^ "Anthony Maras' The Palace wins Best Aus Short Film at 2012 Flickerfest Festival". IF Magazine. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  48. ^ The Palace, retrieved 23 October 2018
  49. ^ Yardbird, retrieved 23 October 2018
  50. ^ Elphick, Nicole (16 January 2018). "Long-running short film festival Flickerfest beats Hollywood to gender parity". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  51. ^ a b "Flickerfest Short Film Festival Launches in Bondi This Friday". Broadsheet. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  52. ^ "Flickerfest is nothing less than a bona fide Australian institution". Brag Magazine. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
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