Awards & Voting
Feature Fiction Films in Competition
A Useful Ghost
Inspired by the Thai folklore legend of Mae Nak, Thai writer/director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke delivers a politically tinged, absurdist comedy/drama in which the ghost of a young woman returns to her husband as a bright-red vacuum cleaner, determined to prove herself a loving ghost.
Perla
In 1981 Vienna, a Slovakian exile struggles to support her daughter. When the child’s father re-appears in her life, Perla makes the dangerous journey back to communist Czechoslovakia. Based on the director’s grandmother, Perla is torn between the demands of conflicting loves that threaten to pull her life apart.
Phantoms of July
Whimsical and beautifully strange, Phantoms of July blends folklore and modern life in a lyrical four-part fable. When Ursula and Neda embark on a ghost hunt, their encounter becomes a story of eccentric locals, spectral rumours and the surprising connections strangeness can spark.
Reedland
Johan harvests reeds in the Dutch marshlands. When he discovers the body of a girl, he embarks on a search for the killer. Sven Bresser’s debut feature is a brooding reinvention of the crime genre. You can lose yourself in the tall reeds—or maybe find yourself.
Vanilla
In late-1980s Mexico, Vanilla is a textured family drama told through the eyes of a young girl raised by seven formidable women. As debt threatens their home, she witnesses resilience, tenderness and struggle that reshape her sense of belonging and the meaning of family.
Feature Documentary Films in Competition
Cast Off
Filmmaker Julian Wittmann embarks on a journey to find the secret of freedom with Wolfgang ‘Gangerl’ Clemens, an 80-year-old sailor who left society behind to roam the seas. A compelling, rare character study reveals freedom as both a dream and a discipline.
North South Man Woman
Yujin Han, a North Korean defector turned matchmaker, runs Lovestorya in Seoul, pairing Northern women with Southern men. Shot over five years, the film tracks her clients and marriage as politics, prejudice and practicalities collide, blending candid testimony with playful storytelling to ask what love can truly negotiate.
Sanatorium
In an ex-Soviet wellness resort on Odesa’s shore, patients and staff pursue cures, companionship and small joys as war murmurs nearby. Sanatorium observes one summer of mud baths, electro therapies and karaoke with bright, ironic wit, revealing how ordinary rituals keep dignity, desire and community intact.
She
She tells the story of the Vietnamese women who work at electronics factories. 80% of the 80,000 strong workforce is female. They do long shifts under gruelling conditions. Their primary contact with their children is by phone. Parsifal Reparato’s film questions the very structure of the global economy.
The Tale of Silyan
Directed by Tamara Kotevska of Oscar nominated Honeyland (2019), this Australian premiere unfolds with quiet beauty and transformative warmth. In rural North Macedonia, a dispossessed farmer rescues a wounded white stork. Against growing hardship, their improbable bond echoes legend.
Change Award Films in Competition
Black Water
Climate change is making the world a more dangerous place, though the pain is not shared equally. In Bangladesh, rising sea levels and cyclones drive Lokhi to migrate to Dhaka, one of the most polluted cities on earth. This observational documentary showcases the struggle for survival in Bangladesh, under a glowering sky.
Only on Earth
A holistic documentary on wildfires and wild horses. Robin Petré stares long and hard at the rhythms of social life in Spanish Galicia that revolve around the horses, living with fire, even the way kids play. If we’re going to save the earth, we need to look closely at it.
Power Station
Two artist-activists plan to install solar panels on every building in their street. Take a community, mix in some vision and a dash of British eccentricity, and the result is everyday magic. By turns funny and heartwarming, this is a vibrant testament to the power of art in making change.
Trade Secret
A calm, clear-eyed exposé of the international polar bear fur trade and the legal frameworks that allow it to flourish. Spanning six years and nine countries, Trade Secret reveals how political and commercial interests are reshaping the meaning of conservation.
Until the Sky Falls Quiet
Two Sydney doctors volunteer to work in Gaza. This is the story of their time in a hell on earth. They experience frightful scenes of carnage including the deaths of many children. But they also bear witness to the resilience and generosity of many people.
Audience advice: This film contains distressing images.
Audience advice: This film contains distressing images.
Short Films in Competition
Automagic
On his return home, androgynous-looking Madhu attempts to seduce Ratnakar, his rickshaw driver, who is practicing celibacy in preparation for a religious pilgrimage.
God Is Shy
During a train ride, Ariel and Paul pass the time sketching their deepest fears. Their game takes an unexpected turn when Gilda, a mysterious passenger, intrudes on their exchange. Yet, her relationship with fear seems far less innocent than their playful drawings.
My Wonderful Life
Grace Lee, an overworked mom in Singapore, collapses at work. She gets admitted into the hospital, where she finds newfound freedom as a patient.
The Eating of an Orange
In a large manor house identical figures eat the same, move the same, look the same. But everything will change for one woman when she gets given an orange by an unknown figure. She has never seen an orange.
Guttercat
A punk sapphic couple attempt to wipe away their drug debt in Adelaide's seedy southern suburbs.
Norheimsund
A girl’s long- distance romance with an older Norwegian man promises to pull her and her mother from their austere life in Cuba, but her dreams are shaken when she realises he isn’t as idyllic as he seems.
