Lovers of short film will get their annual fix of work from national and international filmmakers at Flickerfest 2016.
Flickerfest is Australia's largest short film festival, and the only one in the country to be Academy accredited and BAFTA recognised. Films in competition at Flickerfest are competing for a number of prizes including Best International Short Film, Yoram Gross Award For Best International Animation, Best Australian Short Film and Best Short Documentary, among others.
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The festival's Director, Bronwyn Kidd, shares why she thinks short films are so special and unique. “I think it's the fact that they're truly independent, and that there's no pressures from the box office. They remain outside of commercial concerns really so they're truly creative and independent. We get to see a range of cultures, and go on a number of journeys within a short film programme, and I guess that's what really appeals to me.”
This year's touring festival will feature a selection of just over 100 films, which was narrowed down from over 2,400 entries from around the world. “It's a very difficult process and it takes us many many months. A lot of thought and curation goes into the programme we are sharing with audiences.”
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It seems Bronwyn is onto a winning formula with Flickerfest. She reassures she doesn't want to change that, and wants to keep the selection of new short films as the festival's main focus rather than mix up the way the programme is ran. “New films are the only key thing we change. We're not doing anything different to what we have done, in the sense that we're curating our selection of the world's best short films. That's what we'll be sharing again with audiences. A range of styles and genres, and just a really great collection of contemporary story telling.”
Browyn has been Director of the festival for 19 out of the 25 years it has been around, and she also founded the Flickerfest Short Film Bureau in 2002. The bureau was created as way to distribute Australian short films internationally, and it is safe to assume Browyn is extremely proud of the “fantastic short films” being made in this country. “There's a real passion for story telling. We're telling great stories that are really relevant to who we are as Australians right now, which includes a range of indigenous stories within the programme. We're really covering a range of stories that give a great snap shot of contemporary Australia, and that makes me very proud of our filmmakers.”
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Bronwyn has a real passion for what she has done for so many years, and she's looking forward to stopping off in Adelaide on Flickerfest's national tour. “Films have been my life really, for all this period of time. I'm always really thrilled to share such a great collection of shorts ..." The Adelaide stop will see films screened from the 'Best Of International 1, Best Of Australian Shorts (including 'Slingshot', winer of Best Australian Short Film) plus local shorts.
Flickerfest is currently touring nationally and will screen Mercury Cinema this Saturday 2nd April.
