This summer, Flickerfest is once again set to grace our shores as it rolls out the red carpet at Bondi Beach to celebrate its 35th year.
This not-to-be-missed, ten-day event is set to showcase a hand-picked selection of Australia’s (and the world’s!) most exciting short films under the stars and in the theatre at Bondi Pavilion.
The 2026 programme showcases around 200 exceptional shorts across 23 dedicated festival programmes, hand-picked from a record-breaking 3,700+ entries from more than 100 countries. Many of the films featured will be celebrating their world and Australian premieres.
Plus, Flickerfest’s Academy-qualifying competitions of 111 short films include 42 world premieres, 41 Australian premieres, and 19 New South Wales premieres. This will give audiences a first look at the most outstanding short films on offer, vying for a number of prestigious prizes including the Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film, the Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animation, the Panasonic Lumix Award for Best Australian Short Film, and the Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary – all of which are Academy-qualifying.
From home soil, 60 Australian films have been selected for the Best Of Australian competition. Plus, 36 films will compete for Best Of International, and 15 thought-provoking documentaries make up the Best Of Documentary competition. A further 100 films feature across Flickerfest showcase sessions.
Flickerfest’s programmes return in 2026, including FlickerUp, celebrating youth filmmaking, Rainbow Shorts, celebrating LGBTQIA+ films, a First Nations Showcase, FlickerKids, LoveBites, and Short Laughs.
Flickerfest alumni and director Jesse Vogelaar will return for the world premiere of his new short film ‘The Suit’ starring Kat Stewart, Harvey Zielinski and Colin Lane. Plus, ‘BUBBA’ is a deeply intimate, tender new work from alumni director Nina Buxton. Flickerfest will also premiere Matt Day’s new short ‘Baby Shower’, starring Hugo Weaving, Contessa Treffone, and Helen Thompson. . . Shot in a single day and set in one location.
Watch out for the Australian premiere of ‘They’ in the Academy Award-qualifying competition. It’s the directorial debut of Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger, and is an animated effort where a hopeful hero and his trusty dog hatch a plan to encourage better days. Plus, there’s the world premiere of ‘Three’, a provocative, darkly humorous short from first-time director Robert Carlyle. . . And ‘A Friend Of Dorothy’ starring Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Fry.
“With a record of over 3,700 entries received, Flickerfest 2026 will again deliver an outstanding programme celebrating our most talented contemporary storytellers, both here in Australia and from around the world,” Flickerfest Director Bronwyn Kidd says.
“With so many outstanding films to choose from I am so excited to present our audiences with programmes that applaud bold, inspiring, creative & unforgettable short films from talent who are destined to shape the future of cinema.”
Flickerfest is on at Bondi Beach (Sydney) 23 January-1 February. It goes on tour nationally from February-October 2026.
