Discoveries from Australia World Cinema

One man’s upbringing in Dunedin, New Zealand. Following his early life, bullying, and his own advice for the current generation. Unfiltered.

Shutter is an experimental short film that blurs the line between narrative, satire and self reflection. It primarily explores the anxiety of performance and the fear of being judged. Through various lives, the film communicates these pressures. A man who loses his temper over a letter, a comedian dying on stage and a dishonest friend. Anything from everyday actions to major stunts spiral out of control into moments of scrutiny and even silence becomes a form of judgement. By combining satire with a sense of self awareness, Shutter captures the true essence of creating, performing and exposing oneself to the gaze of others.

Michael is a student with intrusive thoughts.

Explores the life and work of Gordon Bennett, a young artist from Brisbane whose paintings break away from established images and concepts and instead have their perspectives shaped by Australian and European cultural influences.

Finding Creativity is a captivating exploration of the creative process through the eyes of established glass artist Holly Grace, celebrated chef and restaurant owner Coskun Uysal, talented singer/songwriter Henry Brett and accomplished social entrepreneur Jan Owen. The subjects’ personal stories allow for an enlightening and informative look into how they came to work in creative fields and how they actively seek out inspiration. We hear firsthand accounts of their successes and struggles as they share their respective approaches to creativity. From this, we more deeply understand what it means to be creative and how all of us have the capacity to embrace it.

Two young adults tasked with protecting the world take a moment to discuss how much their lives have changed.

Ivy Moore, an aspiring SFx artist, when criticised at an interview takes a gruesome route towards creating the ‘perfect’ portfolio.

A wildlife photographer is bitten by an unknown bug on a remote island and is fighting the clock to cure this flesh eating disease.

Marian Wilkinson investigates shadowy world of secret international finance and tax avoidance.

A tale of love, friendship, loneliness, and survival.

Mummy is constantly torn away from creating art by her feral children. After confiscating their much-beloved iPad, her monotonous reality quickly fractures into twisted fantasy.

This 80-minute history has been 40,000 years in the making! Not only does this film feature all the jar dropping highlights we associate with the Aboriginal contingent over the past 30 or so years, it gives a holistic view of all the elements which total the indigenous contribution to our native game.

The film follows surfers Pacha Luque Light and Lucy Small on a powerful journey across Ecuador, where they meet and learn from women deeply connected to their surroundings and communities who face urgent environmental struggle. As Pacha reconnects with her Ecuadorian roots, she also begins to redefine her identity, revealing how personal and collective transformation are intertwined.

On the way to a friendly barbecue, Skye discovers a gun and a folder of images of himself in the glove box of Tom's car. Unaware of the intention, all he has to do is stay calm and make sure he doesn't blow his cover.

After a powerful artefact is revealed, two teams race for possession

A world-renowned science fiction author struggles to deliver on a manuscript, tempted to go to artificial intelligence to complete his story.

Life is like an opera and she must always be ready for the stage. She’s anxious about her appearance—her face, her lips, her eyes. Everything must be perfect. However, with her saying, “here we go again,” is that really what she wants to show to the world?

A determined, yet exhausted young woman dreams of making it as a singer, finding solace in a cult with a horrific pay-off. While it's Aberrant to join a cult, dreams of a creatively fulfilling career may fall further beyond society's standards.

Irina's childhood comes to a premature end after her non-English mother is fired from her job as a motel cleaner, upending their parent-child relationship.

A man struggles with indecision.

When Kelly dumps Brian, his world comes crashing down - again. As the only two survivors stranded on a deserted island, Brian is left adrift in a sea of misery while Kelly thrives. After several unlikely encounters, Brian realises he needs to get his life afloat. Just as it looks like their love might be rescued, an actual ship appears on the horizon. Now, Brian faces his biggest dilemma yet: sail solo or stay marooned for a second shot at love.

"Rapid Bay: The Town That Was", highlights the lifecycle of regional mining towns. In its former glory, Rapid Bay's existence relied entirely upon a single, finite resource but as the mine depleted, the economic justification for the town vanished, leaving behind homes, infrastructure and memories of a thriving town that once was." Fleurieu Film Festival - Focus on the Fleurieu, Award Winner (2026)

‘Vacations in America’ is a film accompaniment to the debut album by Oh Francis.

After Ian's graduation film was cancelled by the school, he felt compelled to shoot his film on his own. This is a reflection on that process.

A reunion between two old friends at an Inner West Sydney terrace reveals resentment and abandonment issues. What does it truly mean to be ‘mates’?

After an ordinary day at the produce markets, Zhan is met with the announcement that his daughter is moving to another city to pursue her dreams. Faced with the approaching separation, he struggles to express to her the words in his heart.

A young teenager isolated from reality is disrupted after meeting a girl in his building. As their connection grows, he begins to confront his struggles, form new bonds and rediscover the small joys that make life worth living.

Colombian dancer Wendy Nedd finds self-acceptance with the support of Melbourne's Latin American and Hispanic Rainbow Community as she prepares to perform at Victoria's 2024 Pride Street Party. Having faced the challenges of immigrating to a new country, Wendy is determined to showcase the traditional dance of her homeland. Through dance, she finds a powerful way to embrace her true self and share her cultural heritage with pride.

Two friends try to make their way to the water but the surrounding space seems to become increasingly abstracted.

Australian Drama Film

During a stay in the infamous Blackheath Gorge, 5 friends are terrorised by a nightmarish entity, said to appear once every 27 years

A film of repeated movements toward the camera, away from the camera, and across the camera's field, punctuated by a 360-degree rotational movement of the camera itself. Aside from being a reference to the repetition characteristic of home movies, the film is an exploration of a specific space. By repeatedly traversing it, the two figures reinforce their sense of depth, beginning as distant blobs in the long shot and ending with the face of one of them filling the frame. Repetition has become an important strategy in many of our recent films, which often involve reshoots or reprints. (Arthur Cantrill & Corinne Cantrill)

Made from image fragments from Will Spoor's footage, it was our first direct foray into the relationship between cinema and visual perception. It has two parts: Retina Imprints, an experiment on the persistence of vision, stretching and reorganizing movement in time, and Memory Imprints, fragments of strange images that remain impressed on the memory. (Arthur Cantrill & Corinne Cantrill)

Coastal scenes filmed with an energetic pattern of two frames image/two frames black, intercut with Ivor Cantrill’s painting of the scene. Sounds of the sea are mixed with vigorous violin improvisation. (Arthur Cantrill & Corinne Cantrill)

The footage for this film was shot in London during our research into the Vorticist movement. It is a montage of images from the Vorticist magazine Blast, including Vorticist drawings and texts from the manifestos. A screen made from a collage of photographic enlargements from the magazine was prepared for the screening of this film. The soundtrack evokes the sounds of World War I, which were, in a way, the climax of the Vorticist movement in England. During the Expanded Cinema presentations, excerpts from Blast were read during the film screening. (Arthur Cantrill & Corinne Cantrill)

A story of two friends drifting away

An aspiring filmmaker and his procrasinated and precise journey of creating a movie for a film competition.

A short examination of the work of Australian performance artist Stelarc.

Mary Pipes and Peter Templeton turn their subtitling skills to hilarious ends. Revenge of the Subtitles short aired on Eat Carpet.

The meteoric rise of legendary bodybuilders and viral internet sensations Zyzz and Chestbrah, brothers Aziz and Said struggle to find their place in a hostile world. They discover a sense of belonging on bodybuilding forums, where they create their online alter egos—Zyzz and Chestbrah—building a dedicated global following. But Zyzz’s relentless pursuit of perfection threatens everything. When tragedy strikes, Chestbrah is left to piece together the complex legacy they created.

Will Spoor is a Dutch performer, working in the abstract side of movement and mime. He has considerable knowledge of the potential of film and his intention was to extend his work into realms that were impossible for live theatre. We used a combination of animation and in-camera superimpositions to create structures of body movement. Our work on sound composition came to a head in this film with organically and electronically complex sounds. It was the most valuable collaboration we had done with another artist since Larry Sitsky; an intense concentration of our energies and skills and of his energies and skills. (Arthur Cantrill & Corinne Cantrill)

An unpunished ex-SS officer is thrust into a mysterious mob trial, more than 75 years after his crimes were committed.

Eight People. Two Teams. One Artefact.

Exercise routine teaching the basic of ninjutsu.

Chronicling a walk to the end of the line on Super 8 film — from the heart of the inner city to the outer suburban station of Upfield in Melbourne’s North.

The Wiggles - Wiggly Big Day Out

Blasted Apart With the Last Breath follows an old man lost in a dark forest, confronting his fear of his death and regrets. Meanwhile, his wife reflects on their life together, torn between love and resentment. As reality blurs, both navigate the man's final moments.

After getting into a heated argument with her dad Hossein, Zahra stumbles upon immigration documents of his journey to Australia as a refugee. By reading these files and uncovering her father’s truth, Zahra is able to travel back in time and make peace with Hossein - understanding the past to make sense of the future.

A faux documentary following Melbourne’s most notorious crime family as chaos erupts after a glamorous garden party takes an unexpected turn.

Anxious about their newborn's fragile health, Damian and Angela's relationship is put to the test.

Following the creative and visual journey of understanding food security through Permaculture principles.

Join Marty and Moog as they set off on an epic road trip adventure in tiny Japanese Kei cars across the wild and remote land of Tasmania in their latest feature film - SEA TO THE CITY. Along the way, they will try and answer the age old question: which is better - sports cars or mini trucks?

Three boys must escape scary skull

Influencers Emelia and Brook go in search of a grave that has mysteriously gone viral. Capturing everything on their phone, as the horrors unfold.

Exploring how tea culture in Turkey holds a significant role within the lives of Turkish people, always surrounding them and bringing them together.

Short film from Australia directed by Debbie Kingsland

Drawing on over 100 hours of footage filmed over seven years at the height of the Afghanistan war, The Watch or the Time tells the stories of foreigners grappling with what they’ve left behind, Afghans struggling to make sense of the dramatic shift in their fates, whilst others celebrate the Taliban’s win. As America and its allies try to wash their hands of responsibility in Afghanistan, The Watch or the Time puts it front and centre again. As this film asks, was it all worth it?

Greener Pastures follows the trials and tribulations of farmers Sandra Jefford and Wilco Droppert as they navigate an ever-changing landscape.

A Film by A. Costa

There is no one way of seeing anything. Everything must reflect on itself. Time is not linear nor is the way we perceive anything.