The St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF) is one of Australia’s longest-running short film festivals and is presented by the City of Port Phillip in Victoria.
The festival celebrates Australian short filmmaking through a curated competition featuring more than 100 selected short films, alongside international screenings, special events, filmmaker development programs, live performances, exhibitions, and other creative events across St Kilda and South Melbourne.
The festival provides a platform for both emerging and established Australian filmmakers and offers selected films the opportunity to compete for a significant cash and in-kind prize pool.
St Kilda Film Festival is also an Academy Awards® qualifying festival, meaning eligible award-winning films may be considered for the Short Film and Documentary Short Film categories of the Academy Awards®.
The festival offers a substantial prize pool featuring cash and in-kind awards.
Major awards include:
All selected films that meet the relevant eligibility requirements are automatically considered for festival awards.
The main St Kilda Film Festival short film competition accepts Australian-made short films.
Australian co-productions may also be eligible where:
The festival makes the final determination regarding co-production eligibility.
Australian producer-directors whose films do not meet the co-production requirements may submit through the separate Australian Expats category.
If selected, these films are presented out of competition and are not eligible for festival awards or Academy Awards® qualification.
The festival accepts a broad range of fiction and nonfiction short films, including:
Films submitted to the main competition must be 40 minutes or less, including credits.
Films selected for the 2027 St Kilda Film Festival Top Short Competition must have been completed within two years of the entry closing date.
All submitted films are assessed by an independent industry panel. The panel may include festival alumni, the Festival Director, and relevant arts and accessibility representatives.
The panel selects the films that will form the festival’s Top Short Film program.
Selected films are then eligible for consideration by an independent jury of three screen-industry professionals.
Award nominations are announced during the festival, with winners announced on Closing Night.
By submitting a film, filmmakers grant the festival permission to:
These opportunities are subject to festival selection and are not guaranteed for every submitted film.
Filmmakers must have the necessary rights and permissions to submit their film, including rights relating to music, literary material, and other third-party copyrighted content.
Selected filmmakers may be required to provide:
The festival strongly encourages selected filmmakers to remove publicly accessible online versions of their films that do not use geo-blocking during the festival screening period.
Selected films are also requested not to participate in other public screenings in Victoria during the festival period, except where existing festival or streaming agreements apply.
Films cannot be withdrawn after the festival’s stated withdrawal deadline.
The festival provides submission fee waivers for films where the director and/or producer identifies as:
Eligible filmmakers can contact the festival to request a waiver code before submitting.
The festival also presents Under the Radar, a separate youth competition for filmmakers under 21 years of age.
Under the Radar has separate submission requirements and eligibility rules.
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