Entries are now open for the 71^st Sydney Film Festival in 2024, in cinemas from June 5—16. This year, filmmakers have the opportunity to vie for a prize pool of $155,000 spread across various award categories.

Submissions for the Festival are being accepted through Film Freeway and will close March 1 for international and Australian productions, the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films, and the Documentary Australia Award.

The 2024 season will celebrate the 55^th year of the festival’s Australian short film competition, making it the oldest short film competition in Australia. Since 1970, the competition has served as a launch pad for emerging Australian film talent, spring-boarding countless directors, producers and actors towards international success.

The winners of the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films and the Documentary Australia Award are Academy Award eligible, as these competitions are officially recognised as qualifying awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Entries are open to features, documentaries and short films in all categories of the Festival program, including for:

Shorts:

• Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films, prizes include;
• The Dendy Live Action Short Award for best Australian short film ($7,000) and the
• Rouben Mamoulian Award for best Australian short film director ($7,000), both sponsored by Dendy Cinemas, who have supported the Awards for 36 years.
• The Yoram Gross Animation Award for best Australian animated short film ($7,000), supported by Sandra and Guy Gross in memory of the Australian animation producer and director Yoram Gross.
• The AFTRS Craft Award for demonstrated excellence by a craft practitioner in an Australian short film ($7,000), sponsored by AFTRS.
• The Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award recognising an emerging short filmmaker who has had no more than five short film credits ($7,000). This award is sponsored by Event Cinemas and open to film creatives, directors and screenwriters.
• FLUX: Art+Film International Shorts under 15 minutes in length
• Freak Me Out International Shorts under 15 minutes in length
• Family International Shorts under 15 minutes in length

Features (40 mins+):

• Australian Features (Fiction)
• International Features (Fiction and Documentary)

Any length:

• Documentary Australia Award acknowledging excellence in Australian documentary production of any length ($20,000), supported by Documentary Australia for 11 years running.
• Sustainable Future Award for a narrative or documentary film of any length that deepens our knowledge and awareness of the impact of the global climate emergency ($40,000), made possible by a syndicate of passionate climate activists led by award sponsor, Amanda Maple-Brown.
• Screenability Program. Welcoming entries of any length to the festival’s Screenability program from filmmakers living with disability.
• First Nations Program. Encouraging submissions (features, documentaries and shorts) to the festival from First Nations filmmakers from Australia and around the world.

All feature length films selected for the Festival are considered for inclusion in the Official Competition and compete for the Sydney Film Prize ($60,000).

The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films and the Documentary Australia Award for Best Australian Documentary competition are open exclusively to Australian productions.

Before entering, fstival organisers urge all entrants to review the submission requirements closely, to ensure all entries meet premiere status and broader eligibility requirements. A small fee applies for all programs and awards, except for Screenability and First Nations which have their fee waived.