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Australian short film wins crystal bear at Berlinale

press release Tracey Mair TM Publicity

The Amber Amulet, an Australian short film directed by Matthew Moore, has won the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film in the Berlin International Film Festival’s Kplus program. The Kplus program is a section for young people, however, it was also selected to screen at one of the special slots for the Berlinale Shorts program. The film is his second consecutive entry to the festival, having also won the 2012 Crystal Bear for his film Julian.

“Having a film compete in The Berlin International Film Festival had been a long held dream for me. To win back-to-back Crystal Bears is out of this world. I'm thrilled the jury and audiences in Berlin embraced The Amber Amulet. It was an honour to bring Craig Silvey's beautiful novella to the screen,” Matthew said.

The Amber Amulet was adapted by Matthew Moore and Genevieve Hegney from the novella by Craig Silvey. Genevieve Hegney also appears in the film. It tells the story of a 10-year-old superhero, a beagle, an amulet made of amber, and the potential that is locked inside all of us. 

The film was produced by Lauren Edwards for Goalpost Pictures Australia and Genevieve Hegney and Matthew Moore for Year of the Rabbit Films, in addition to being funded through AbaF donations (Australia Business Arts Foundation).

This year marks the fourth year in a row that an Australian has been awarded the Crystal Bear in Best Short Film category at the Berlinale. Rebecca Peniston-Bird was another Australian to have her film, Summer Suit, screened alongside The Amber Amulet in Generation Kplus.

The Amber Amulet Trailer from Matthew Moore on Vimeo.