Feast your eyes on a smorgasbord of short films as Flickerfest returns to WA

Popular Australian short film festival, Flickerfest, is back for 2024. This year Flickerfest takes over a new venue, the Luna Outdoor Cinema, for a three-day festival of short films under the stars, from Thursday, February 29 to Saturday, March 2.

This year's programme boasts over 30 incredible short films handpicked from a record 3,400 entries received for Flickerfest’s Academy® and BAFTA Qualifying short film festival which screened recently in Bondi. 

Highlights enjoying their Perth and WA premieres include much-loved festival award winners and favourites with the best Australian and international short films the world has to offer, screening alongside exciting, fresh local talent.

On Thursday, February 29 from 6pm, raise a glass to 28 years of Flickerfest in Perth at the festival's Opening Night drinks with Gage Roads craft beer, Rosnay organic wine and sumptuous snacks. Then, at 7.45pm, the festival shines a spotlight on the incredible short film talent that exists in our emerging Australian industry with a host of Australian stories honouring our unique identity and culture with the Best of Australian Shorts programme. Highlights include Cold Water, starring industry legend Bruce Spence, winner of AFTRS Best Original Script at Flickerfest 2024 and the winner of the Panasonic Award For Best Australian Short Film (Academy Qualifying), Yeah The Boys, that takes a whimsical, hard but heartfelt look at Australian male drinking culture, beautifully enhanced by a stunning original soundtrack from The Avalanches.

On Friday, March 1, from 7.45pm,  take a trip around the world with the Best of International Shorts programme. Amongst a host of international highlights enjoying their Australian premieres are the delightful Last Days of Summer from award winning Himalayan filmmaker Shenzin Tangkong, hilarious Swedish comedy on political correctness The Film Might Be White and moving UK drama My Week With Maisy, starring a tear-jerking performance from queen of the stage and screen Joanna Lumley.

Joining them are six outstanding WA films fresh from their premieres at Flickerfest Bondi, including the moving drama From Esperance To Fremantle by William Sebastian Turner, delightful family film Raising Thunder by director Kaleb McKenna, chilling one shot, gal pal horror Bad Vibrations produced by and starring Annabel Maclean, First Nations ghost story Featherfoot, Noongar women Tace Stevens’ insightful short documentary To Be Silent and the AI thriller Fences, starring award-winning WA actor Meyne Wyatt and the legendary Colin Friels. 

On Saturday, March 2, from 7.45 pm, clever comedy also brings joy to the big screen with the Short Laughs Comedy programme of off-kilter Flickerfest shorts from at home and around the world. Highlights include the delightfully quirky Irish short Cantata about a man whose life is upended when his only means to communicate is song, and the delightful UK short Linda by comedian Joe Lycett, about a woman whose tall tales and colourful life seem too good to be true.

Flickerfest is screening at Luna Outdoor Cinema from Thursday, February 29 to Saturday, March 2, 2024. For more info and to buy tickets, head to flickerfest.com.au