We’re excited to announce ‘Female Empowerment’ as the theme of the 2016 Indian Film Festival Short Film Competition. 

The competition goes from strength to strength in its quest to unearth exciting and talented new filmmakers from India and Australia. The entrants need to submit their best work (narrative or documentary) of ten minutes or less, on the theme of ‘Female Empowerment’. 

No easy task then! But with previous winners earning Film Victoria funding and assisting the director of a major Bollywood feature, the rewards can far outlast their films’ short running times. 

The winning filmmakers will be flown across the globe: the Australian winner to India, and the Indian winner to Australia. The winning films will be shown throughout The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, at cinemas across Australia. 

Entries close 15 June 2016. 

 Click here to download the entry form
Submit completed form to info@iffm.com.au

2015 WINNERS 

Road to Grand Final (Aus), directed by Mark Hellinger and Jesse Maskell, was awarded the best Australian Short: and Mark collected the award at the IFFM Awards Night (plus a trip to India!) The documentary short which captures the Williamstown Seagulls FIDA team on their path to the 2014 Grand Final, competing in an Australian Rules league for people with an intellectual disability.

Rape: It’s Your Fault (India), directed by edgy Indian comedy collective All India Bakchod, won the award for best Indian short. The pseudo-educational video intelligently explores rape culture and victim blaming in India, facetiously listing the reasons often given to women why rape is their fault – “Women who wear skirts are the leading cause of rape” – and addressing the systemic institutional problems that face women who seek justice, sending a sharp and powerful message through comedy.