Flickerfest 2016

By Ben Stephens.

Popcorn, short films and Bondi Beach. Three things that go together at a certain time of the year… and that time is NOW! The 25^th International Short Film Festival, Flickerfest, is back and packed with some amazing entrants, all of which have been carefully selected to produce a well thought out and bloody entertaining 2016 programme.

There are heaps of categories to help you fulfil your viewing needs during the festival, like the Best of Australian, Best of International and Best of Documentary, Short Laughs, Greenflicks Competition, Love Bites, FlickerUp and Flickerkids.

Make sure you check out The Trophy Thief by local Sydney Director Dave Edwards. The story tells a tale of a young boy desperate to win the Most Valuable Player award to fix the issues at home – it’s a tear jerking, feel good short.

When it comes to comedy, keep an eye out for Australian actor/screenwriter/comedian/director, Brendan Cowell’s six minutes of awesomeness with Title Card. You’ll find that one in the Short Laughs category, a place you might want to spend a lot of the festival.

To highlight the issue of the environment, the three minute piece from Dave Wade will take you on a tour through a future Great Barrier Reef that seems to be a little different from today’s. It might leave you feeling a little compelled to recycle, which is never a bad thing.

Along with all the remarkable short films, FlickerFest organisers have put together a strong panel for FlickerLab, a day spent with the industry’s leading film experts talking intimately about their own filmmaking careers. With Australian Director Kieran Darcy-Smith and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon from the US headlining the speaking event, the day will be about immersing yourself within the industry as professionals offload their wisdom and expertise.

From January 8 to 17 you can find FlickerFest at the Bondi Pavillion, just follow the red carpet. For more information on the short films that a screening and to purchase tickets check their website.

Flickerfest runs January 8 -17