New Samsung AFI/AACTA Festival of Film kicks off award season

The Hunter. Photo by Matt Nettheim.

Today the new AFI | AACTA announced the Samsung AFI | AACTA Festival of Film, marking the official start to the Australian awards season. The opening night film will be Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter, starring Willem Dafoe.

Running from the 14 October to 11 November, the festival will showcase 23 Feature Films in competition, as well as nominees for Best Short Fiction Film, Best Short Animation and Best Feature Length Documentary. Each will be competing for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award.

In a press release, AACTA states: “Whilst we have previously held an awards screening period, this year we have chosen a festival format to showcase the films competing for an AACTA Award, with the aim of generating greater audience reach and engagement with the fantastic film content our industry is producing”.

Admission to the Festival is complimentary for AFI/AACTA members, but is also open to the general public.

Feature Films

Feature Length Documentaries:

  • Life in Movement
  • Mrs. Carey’s Concert
  • Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
  • The Tall Man

Short Films:

  • Adam’s Talitt
  • Cropped
  • The Palace
  • The Telegram Man
Short Animated Films:
  • Forget Me Not
  • The Missing Key
  • The Moment
  • Nullarbor 

The full program, including screening times, can be found on the AACTA website.