The Canberra Short Film Festival is celebrating its 31st birthday with a new director, Bruce Davie. Photo: Canberra Short Film Festival.
The Canberra Short Film Festival is celebrating its 31st anniversary with its new director, Bruce Davie, who promises a huge lineup for 2026.
The festival is one of the longest-running in the country. It has showcased some of the best short films ever captured, including last year’s International Best Film category winner, Berta.
This year’s festival received over 500 film submissions from across the world, with the best couple of hundred to be screened at Dendy Cinemas over the week-long festival (10 to 17 October 2026).
Mr Davie has been a long-time Canberra-based filmmaker and has served in other roles with the festival for years.
Replacing former director John Frohlich, Mr Davie said he is eager to give back to Canberra’s filmmaking community.
“John has been running the festival for 10 years, and he had it down to a sweet science, where he could run a very successful festival and do it quite comfortably,” he said.
“I’m still learning the ropes, but I’m lucky because I’ve been handed over a very mature festival with most of its systems in place. It’s just a matter of being able to execute.
“Personally, I’ve made over 20 short films over the years, and I believe that making films is a very demanding art form.
“You have to be part project manager, part artist, and you’ve got to pull a team together to execute a vision while also telling a compelling story in just a handful of minutes.
“Being able to support the current generation of filmmakers by being able to put their films on the big screen – that’s something I’ll always support.”
This year’s festival will continue the tradition of awarding the best films from around the world, with categories for Best International Film, Best National Film, and Best Canberra Film, along with awards for screenwriting, editing, and several other categories.
“Every year there are so many high-quality films belonging to so many different categories, whether that be comedy, drama, horror or whatever else. There’s so much experimentation and creativity on display,” Mr Davie said.
“Our judging panel are always blown away by the quality we see, not just by the international films but by locals as well.
“It’s rewarding not just for the filmmakers but for us as well to have their films shown in a dark cinema where people can be immersed. It’s one thing to see it on YouTube and another to be in a cinema where you can see if your jokes land or if the drama hits.
“Outside of festivals like the Canberra Short Film Festival, it’s really rare for people to have the opportunity to have their films shown like that.
“We at the festival are excited that we’ve been able to give people the opportunity to do that for 30 years and we want to continue doing that for many more years to come.”
The Canberra Short Film Festival will be held at Dendy Cinema from 10 October to 17 October. To purchase tickets or view the schedule for the festival, visit Canberra Short Film Festival.
