By arts editor Helen Musa

Canberra Short Film Festival returns this weekend with 114 films screening across eight days, bringing local, Australian and international filmmakers to two central Canberra venues from October 10 to 17.

Now in its 31st year, the Canberra Short Film Festival is one of Australia’s longest-running competition-based short film festivals. The 2026 program includes films by Canberra creatives and First Nations filmmakers, alongside work from around Australia and seven international films.

The festival is directed this year for the first time by veteran filmmaker and script editor Bruce Davie, who has been part of Canberra’s filmmaking community for several decades and is best known for Locks of Love, Dearth and Much Ado. He has put together a program drawn from many hundreds of submissions.

The festival is not restricted to conventional short films, with the program also including student submissions and music videos, as well as a broad range of genres spread across 11 categories.

Local filmmakers are particularly well represented in the horror category, with Here, directed by Brendan Kelly, Sustenance, directed by Charlie Lester, and Two Parts, directed by Seth Patten.

Opening night will feature two films by Canberra directors, Pen to Paper, directed by Brian (Chun Wing) Lee, and Thinking Out Loud, directed by Jorjia Fletcher.

Canberra connections also run through the comedy program, including Boom Gate, directed by Emma Nason, and The Prize, directed by Paul McDermott and Ren Thackham.

In The Prize, McDermott plays an unfortunate real estate agent who spirals into obsession as he struggles to recapture a fleeting moment of fame.

Another film with a strong Canberra connection is The Death of Me, directed by Matthew C. Lamb and Zachery Bridgman, featuring noted Canberra actor-director Chris Baldock.

For Davie, the festival is ultimately about finding distinctive filmmaking voices rather than simply choosing films according to budget or production scale.

“We’re looking for films with a distinct point of view… stories that earn their ending. Bold, funny, moving, quietly observed… it doesn’t matter. Budget is irrelevant. Vision is everything,” he says.

He acknowledges the difficulty of shortlisting the program from hundreds of submissions, but says the festival offers filmmakers something that can be increasingly difficult to find.

“Filmmakers aren’t lost in the crowd here; the films are seen, and the conversations that follow are real.”

The 31st Canberra Short Film Festival, Dendy Cinemas and Smith’s Alternative, October 10 to 17. All information here.

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