Short and sweet. Short and sad. Short and scary, silly, sincere, surreal, and surprising. The Saint Kilda Film Festival launched 12 days of short films, workshops and special events. This year marks the festival’s 39th anniversary and it claims the title of Australia’s longest running short film festival.
Although it bears the name of Melbourne’s Saint Kilda suburb, the festival features talent from across Australia. Opening night showcased a touching film of WA youth on a treasure hunt, a Queensland film that created a Korean horror story in eight minutes, and a goofy tale of the life and times of a North Melbourne outdoor dunny. 
Other shorts managed to make an impression without a single line of dialogue. Dies Irea won me over with a gleefully dark animation of seven sinful pigs. In ‘Flappy’ (another personal favourite) a car yard mascot elicits a range of emotions when it confronts a thief. These films can be viewed as part of the animated and comedy showcases, respectively. 
Other event highlights include the Australian Documentary and LGBTQI+ showcases. There’s also a free filmmakers development day stacked with hands-on workshops, forums and Q & As. The Awards Ceremony & After Party, and Winners Screening caps the twelve days of film festivities. There’s more than just honour and prestige for the winners on awards night. There’s also $25,000 in cash and prizes. Plus, this year’s Best Short Film and Best Documentary will be eligible for consideration in the Academy Awards Shorts categories. 
We got taste of what’s to come at the Encore after party, with filmmakers toasting opening night with sparkling outfits and sparkling wine. With the festival championing on homegrown talent, local producers Starward distillery, Bricklane brewery, and Mandala winery provided the drinks whilst bite sized canapés accompanied the night of bite sized films.
Here’s hoping the rest of the fest is as tantalising as opening night!
– Jenny
Jenny Schmidt is an event adventurer. When she’s not attending live shows, you can find her sampling craft beers and dreaming about using her passport to travel internationally (and not just when she’s crossing the Yarra).
The Saint Kilda Film Festival runs 1-12 June in the City of Port Phillip, Melbourne. Book ticket now.
