Stefan Hunt’s ‘Yeah the Boys’ + Matthew Thorne + Derik Lynch’s ‘Dipped In Black’ win at FLiCKERFEST

After a highly successful 10 day festival at Bondi the 33rd annual FLiCKERFEST International and Australian awards have been announced at a star-studded ceremony at Bondi Beach. Among the winners is director Stefan Hunt with writer Vanessa Marion Varghese for Yeah The Boys, which won Best Australian Short Film and Australian directors/writers Matthew Thorne and Derik Lynch for Dipped In Black (Marungka Tjalatjunu), which won the Azure Productions Award for Best Rainbow Short.

 

Hunt and Varghese’s film Yeah The Boys follows six young Aussie men as they sink beers over an afternoon and well into the night. Emoting only through movement; lewd gestures, chokeholds, crowd surfs, and chugging shoeys, they somehow say everything without uttering a single word. Equal parts larrikin, brutal, and tender, this choreographic short film scored by The Avalanches is an observation of Australian masculine identity and our nation’s relationship with drinking culture.

Says Leah Churchill-Brown, executive producer at Exit Films, which represents Hunt: “Exit Films is so proud of Stefan and Vanessa for their incredible achievement, an absolute pleasure to EP such an impactful work. We cannot wait for the world to experience this short film.”

Thorn and Lynch’s film Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) follows Yankunytjatjara man Derik Lynch’s road trip back to Country (Aputula), as memories from his childhood return. A journey from the oppression of white city life in Adelaide, back home to his remote Anangu community to seek spiritual healing, and perform on sacred Inma ground. Inma is a traditional form of storytelling using the visual, verbal, and physical. It is how Anangu Tjukurpa (myths) have been passed down for over 60,000+ years from generation to generation.

Attended by celebrated guests from the Australian film industry, filmmakers and jury, the Closing Night ceremony honoured the esteemed entrants in this year’s competition and FLiCKERFEST’s Academy Qualifying Awards, including the Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film, Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animation, Panasonic LUMIX Award for Best Australian Short Film & Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary.

The Flickerfest Short Film Awards continue to cement the festival’s global position as a leading International Short film festival on the world stage.

Says Bronwyn Kidd, festival director, FLiCKERFEST: “We are thrilled that the 33rd Flickerfest 2024 has been such a success with many filmmakers present to introduce their films, passionate crowds and great enthusiasm expressed for the programmes screened. It’s been great to see short films so warmly embraced by audiences across our ten-day event. I would like to congratulate all of the films selected for Flickerfest in competition and showcases this year and all of tonight’s award winners.”

Flickerfest will now hit the road on a 40+ venues national tour to all states and territories across Australia. You can check out our full tour schedule here.

FLICKERFEST AWARD WINNERS 2024

International Competition Award Winners:

Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film (Academy® Qualifying)

Winner: A Study Of Empathy
Writer/Director: Hilke Rönnfeldt
Producer: Asbjørn H. Kelstrup
​Runtime: 15min
Country: Germany
Dana wants to show empathy. Penelope wants to explore empathy. Penelope’s artistic experiment unfolds and Dana’s feelings are whirled around.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animation (Academy® Qualifying)

Winner: Tapir Memories
Writer/Director: Pedro Nel Cabrera Vanegas
Producer: Fred Truniger
Runtime: 9min
Country: Switzerland / Columbia
A tapir mother reveals her tragic story in an embroidery. She suffers a violent attack, the loss of her home, and the disappearance of her son. Will she find him?
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

EU in Australia Award for Best EU Short Film

Winner: I’m Not A Robot
Writer/Director: Victoria Warmerdam
Producer: Trent
Runtime: 22min
Country: Netherlands
After several unsuccessful attempts to complete a Captcha, feminist Lara sets out to answer the disturbing question of whether she’s a robot, and therefore bought by her boyfriend.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Flickerfest Special Jury Award For International Short Film

Winner: The Masterpiece
Writer: Lluis Quilez, Alfonso Amador
Director: Àlex Lora
Producer: Sandra Trave, Lluis Quilez
Runtime: 20min
Country: Spain
Leo and Diana, a rich couple, bring a broken TV to a recycle point. They meet Salif and his son, two scrap dealers. Diana asks them to come to their house to get more objects. Once there, Leo looks at them collecting objects with mistrust, until they see the scrap dealers have something they want.
AUSTRALIAN  PREMIERE

International Documentary Competition Award Winners:

Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary Short Film (Academy® Qualifying)

Winner: Finding Alaa
Director: Myriam Francois
Runtime: 25min
Country: UK / Canada
The father of an ISIS terrorist responsible for the 2015 Paris Attacks searches for his grand-daughter, Alaa (5y) believed to be in a refugee camp in Northern Syria. Desperate to save his granddaughter, the way he was unable to save his son, the film explores themes of guilt and innocence, identity and belonging, as we meet the ‘other victims of ISIS’ – the families torn apart in its wake, trying to atone for crimes they never committed.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Flickerfest Special Jury Award for Documentary Short Film

Winner: Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too
Director: Ursa Kastelic, Shannet Clemmings
Writer: Ursa Kastelic, Shannet Clemmings
Producer: Filippo Bonacci
Runtime: 14min
Country: Switzerland
Shannet’s voice echoes in the darkness. She is lost. The night scenery of a modern city opens up.  She remembers it was a sunny summer day and vivid memories are relived at a time of trauma. Now in a different place and time Shannet creates new memories on another sunny day.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Rainbow LGBTQI Competition Award Winners:

Azure Productions Award for Best Rainbow Short

Winner: Dipped In Black (Marungka Tjalatjunu)
Director: Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch
Writer: Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch
Producer: Matthew Thorne, Patrick Graham
Runtime: 24min
Country: Australia
Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) follows Yankunytjatjara man Derik Lynch’s road trip back to Country (Aputula), as memories from his childhood return. A journey from the oppression of white city life in Adelaide, back home to his remote Anangu community to seek spiritual healing, and perform on sacred Inma ground. Inma is a traditional form of storytelling using the visual, verbal, and physical. It is how Anangu Tjukurpa (myths) have been passed down for over 60,000+ years from generation to generation.

Special Mention for Rainbow Short
Happy New Year, Ms. Luna
Writer/Director: Andy Diep |  Producer: Michelle Ny, Vada Gock, Yingna Lu
&
Flowers From Another Patio (Flores Del Otro Patio)
Writer/Director: Jorge Cadena Writer: Li Aparicio Candama
Producer: Yan Decoppet, Gabriela Bussmann

EU In Australia Award for Best EU Short Film

Winner: Slow Down The Fall
Writer: Camille Tricaud
Director: Camille Tricaud & Franziska Unger
Producer: Felix Herrmann, Maximilian Bungarten, Camille Tricaud
Country: Germany
In the light of the Alps, a great ski-jumping hill flashes metallically. Two ski jumpers synchronously rehearse movements in the valley, answer generic questions in front of a green screen, and pose on the hill while being watched by a film crew. It is the first reunion for the two athletes since their separation.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Australian Competition Award Winners:

Panasonic LUMIX Award for Best Australian Short Film (Academy® Qualifying)

Winner: Yeah The Boys
Director: Stefan Hunt
Writer: Vanessa Marian Varghese
Producer: Alex Taussig
Runtime: 8min
Yeah the Boys follows six young Aussie men as they sink beers over an afternoon and well into the night. Emoting only through movement; lewd gestures, chokeholds, crowd surfs, and chugging shoeys, they somehow say everything without uttering a single word. Equal parts larrikin, brutal, and tender, this choreographic short film scored by The Avalanches is an observation of Australian masculine identity and our nation’s relationship with drinking culture.
WORLD PREMIERE

Spectrum Films Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film

Winner: What’s in a Name
Writer: Kalu Oji, Faro Musodza, Makwaya Masudi
Director: Kalu Oji
Producer: Mimo Mukii, Ivy Mutuku
Runtime: 9min
Whilst taking part in a larger documentary, a young couple rediscover fractures from a forgotten history.

Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animation

Winner: Duwarra Wujara
Director: Brent D McKee, John Bradley
Writer: Dinah Norman a-Marrngawi
Producer: John Bradley, Fred Leoni, Brent D McKee
Runtime: 27min
In the time of the Dreaming, the Australian Aboriginal period of creation, two young cousins become Duwarra Wujara, newly initiated young men in the clans of their people. Frustrated and impatient, these two cousins abandon their duties in search of adventure… and mischief. .
WORLD PREMIERE

AFTRS Award for Best Screenplay in an Australian Short Film

Winner: Cold Water
Director: Jay Perry, Shaun Perry
Writer: Jay Perry, Shaun Perry
Producer: Brayden Alden
Runtime: 20min
Inspired by true events. Set in St Kilda, Australia, an elderly woman’s peaceful retirement is interrupted when her husband takes up a bizarre new hobby.
NSW PREMIERE

John Barry Sales Award for Best Cinematography in an Australian Short Film

Winner: Dancing Girl & The Balloon Man
Writer/Director: David Ma
Producer: Georgia Noe
Runtime: 21min
Romance blooms between a dim sum shop assistant and a street performer in Chinatown, who carries them in the safety of his balloon on a rainy night.

Avid Award for Best Editing in an Australian Short Film

Winner: How Can I Help You
Writer/Director: Eliza Scanlen
Producer: Georgia Noe, Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings, Alex White
Runtime: 10min
In an attempt to overcome her incessant guilt complex, a young woman goes a step too far.

Avid Award for Best Original Music in an Australian Short Film

Winner: Gorgo
Director: Veniamin Gialouris
Writer: Danielle Stamoulos
Producer: Katie Amos
Runtime: 20min
Inspired by Ovid’s Medusa myth, Gorgo is a dramatic short film that tells the story of a Greek bride’s cross-continental journey to marry a man she has never met. Matchmade by her best friend Athina, with promises of a new future in a distant land, Medousa finds herself arriving in Australia to a strange home—and a cold welcome. Thrust into her new marriage, she soon discovers a monstrous secret that threatens to tear apart the best friends’ vow of sisterhood.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Specsavers Award for Best Australian Comedy Short Film

Winner: Lean In
Writer/Director/Producer: Lucy Coleman
Producers: Lucy Hayes, Deanne Weir, Kartanya Maynard
Moral-abiding feminist comedian, Rach, receives a massive blow after a show when she is rejected by the agent she was so hungry for. Rach’s brother Benny takes her out to his work Christmas drinks as a means to cheer her up. But in his world of sales bro’s Rach is pushed to see if she’s got the “tenacity” to survive in their world. Will she flip on her morals and throw her integrity to the wind to step up to their plate?
WORLD PREMIERE

Rebel 8 Award for Outstanding Emerging Female Director

Winner: Portrait
Writer: Nina Street, Grace Louey
Director: Grace Louey
Producer: Phil Ross, Beier Zhang
Runtime: 12min
When teenager Siah decides to take a nude selfie, she feels both exhilarated and mature. But when she receives news that her photo has been shared, Siah’s sexual agency all but evaporates before her.
WORLD PREMIERE

FLiCKERUP Youth Competition Award Winners:

AFTRS FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Short Film

Winner: Tea’s Ready
Director: Enes Guven
Writer: Enes Guven
Producer: Enes Guven
Runtime: 5min
Exploring how tea culture in Turkey holds a significant role within the lives of Turkish people, always surrounding them and bringing them together.

Yoram Gross FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Animated Short Film

Winner: Self Portrait
Director: Mahdi Poursamad
Writer: Mahdi Poursamad
Producer: Mahdi Poursamad
Runtime: 6min
A painter paints portraits of dying patients for their funeral.

Avid FlickerUp Award for Best Editing in A Youth Short Film

Winner: Fever Bloom
Director: Finn Harrison
Writer: Finn Harrison
Producer: Finn Harrison
Runtime: 7min
A young man becomes obsessed with a woman after a brief encounter in a laundromat, dreaming of what could be between the two of them.

Saba Premium Beverages FlickerUp Jury Award for Youth Short Film

Winner: The Noonday Demon
Director: Rylee O’Keeffe
Writer: Rylee O’Keeffe
Producer: Rylee O’Keeffe
Runtime: 4min
Buckle up for a wild ride. Friends decide to catch a bus away from their adolescent lives and end up meeting bald-worshiping cultists, demonic bus drivers, and opal-card-tapping schoolchildren.

Special Mention for AFTRS FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Short Film

Hot Chip
Director: Edie Farrar-Matson
Writer: Edie Farrar-Matson
Producer: Edie Farrar-Matson
Runtime: 2min
The only thing Gab loves more than a hot chip is a whole basket full of crispy, steamy, salty hot chips. But Gab is not the only one. On the perilous road to hot chip heaven, our hero must face a ravenous, grey-feathered foe. The stage is set for a brutal battle of child against beast. When the chips are down, the chips get hot.

Special Mention for AFTRS FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Short Film

The Locket
Director: Charli Fletcher
Writer: Charli Fletcher
Producer: Raymond Mendez
Runtime: 8min
Influencers Emelia and Brook go in search of a grave that has mysteriously gone viral. Capturing everything on their phone, as the horrors unfold.
*Supernatural themes

Special Mention for AFTRS FlickerUp Award for Best Youth Short Film

Chrysalis
Director: Raphael Dunn
Writer: Raphael Dunn
Producer: Hilda Bezuidenhout, Raphael Dunn, Karen Dunn
Runtime: 8min
A boy finds something invaluable in the water.