Showcasing the best and brightest in local talent, this selection of short films demonstrates the diversity Australian stories, supported by AFTRS and AFTRS Outreach programs. In attendance will be filmmakers to speak about their process following the screening.
Before the screening, from 5.30pm, you can mingle, connect and talk film with fellow cinephiles, creatives and industry folks at the ACMI Cafe + Bar.
This screening is proudly supported by Australian Film Television and Radio School.
Films include:
Chicken (2019) Alana Hicks
All Barbara wants to do is watch the Simpsons, but her recently migrated mum has just been overcharged at the local shops, and it’s up to Barbara to sort it out. As usual.
Alana Hicks is a Papua New Guinean-born, Gadigal-based writer and director. Her short films have featured in festivals such as Flickerfest, BFI’s London Film Festival and SXSW, Sydney. She was the inaugural winner of the 2020 SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition and is currently working on her debut novel Home is a Foreign Country. Chicken won best director at 2020’s Flickerfest in Sydney.
Lucky Peach (2022) Grace Tan
A visually imaginative, deeply personal story about the tensions that develop between an immigrant mother and a young woman as she prepares to head abroad.
Grace Tan is a Writer and Director based in Gadigal land, Sydney, Australia. She is a UNSW Art & Design and AFTRS Masters in Directing graduate, with her work receiving ADG, AWGIE and AACTA nominations. Her work often explores themes of gender, memory, dreams and diaspora identity.
Sushi Noh (2022) Jayden Rathsam Hua
Consigned to the care of her lonely uncle, nine-year-old Ellie encounters a bizarre sushi-vomiting kitchen appliance, triggering an avalanche of vibrant nightmares that seep into reality.
Jayden Rathsam Hua is a Chinese Australian writer/director focused on documentary and horror, with a Masters in Producing from AFTRS. His short film, Sushi Noh, has screened at over 30 international film festivals, winning Audience Choice and at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and Best Screenplay at Flickerfest 2023.
Groundhog Night (2020) Emily Dash
Gary’s so used to caring for his disabled daughter Jess, he can do it in his sleep. But when the in-laws come to stay, everyone will get a wake-up call.
Emily Dash is an emerging writer, actor, producer, and speaker who works across theatre and screen. She began her artistic practice in 2014 after completing an Honours degree in Sociology at Sydney University. Her acclaimed and wide-ranging work emphasises justice issues, community engagement, intersectionality, and expanding perceptions of disability.
Hafekasi (2023) Annelise Hickey
Mona is a 10-year-old Tongan-Australian girl who begins to realise she’s different to her single, white mum and family. Both mother and daughter navigate identity and belonging in Melbourne suburbia during the 90’s.
Writer and Director Annelise Hickey has built a career spanning music videos, commercials, and film steeped in narrative story and tales of belonging. Her first short-film Hafekasi premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2023, where it was awarded the Best Narrative Short Special Jury Mention. Annelise also received the Emerging Australian Director award at Melbourne International Film Festival in 2023.
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Federation Square, Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000
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