Flickerfest is on its way to Newcastle, bringing with it some of the most original - and amusing - short films of the past 12 months.
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The Flickerfest programs present a selection of entertaining, inspiring and award-winning films hand-picked from the festival's 3500 entries.
Flickerfest director Bronwyn Kidd delights in bringing the hottest short films in the world to audiences in her home town of Newcastle each year.
Two programs will be featured: Best Of Australian Shorts and Short Laughs Comedy.
"Our Flickerfest tour event in Newcastle will give audiences an opportunity to experience these world-class short films on their doorstep and connect with festival organisers and other film lovers at the event," Kidd said.
"As I grew up in Newcastle it's always exciting to have the opportunity to bring Flickerfest back to my home town. I'm also thrilled to include filmmakers with a Newcastle background like Kalu Oji of Blackwood, in our Newcastle program, sharing his experiences of growing up locally on screen."
Blackwood won Best Cinematography at Flickerfest Bondi and was written and directed by Oji, originally from Lambton and a former student of Lambton primary and high schools.
It is the story of a novelist and her teenage son who face their own unique challenges over the course of a day, finding recognition and respect difficult to come by in small-town Australia.
Oji is a Nigerian-Australian filmmaker whose work has a strong focus on intersectionality and the African-Australian experience.
In keeping with the Novocastrian theme, Flickerfest's Grease-inspired trailer was made by Jake Nielsen and Matthew Predy, who both attended Hunter School of the Performing Arts. Their film On Hold won Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest 2018.
Highlights from the Best of Australian Shorts include the winner of the Best Australian Short Animation award at Flickerfest 2020, Rebooted, directed by Michael Shanks; Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest 2020 The Egg, by Jane Cho, and This Perfect Day, by Lydia Rui, which won her Best Emerging Female Director.
A selection of off-kilter funny short films from Australia and across the world is also on the line-up.
Highlights include Flickerfest 2020 Best EU Short Film winner The Land Over There (Drubenland) from Germany; The Tent from Norway; and the Korean animation Division Series set in a KFC where Donald Trump and presidents from various countries play cards in an attempt to win the last chicken basket.
The Best of Australian Shorts kicks off at 6pm on February 15 at Event Cinemas Kotara followed by Short Laughs Comedy at 8.45pm. Tickets: flickerfest.com.au
