The Canberra Short Film Festival turns 30 this year but retiring director John Frohlich is quick to assert that it wasn’t his brainchild, writes HELEN MUSA.

Far from it, he said: “This is my 11th year, but the festival’s been around since 1995.”

The festival was in fact established by well-known film reviewer Cris Kennedy at the University of Canberra and has since passed through a number of creative hands, not least Kris Kerehona, Marissa Martin, Simon Weaving and Christian Doran, before Frohlich took the reins in 2015.

Now, after a decade at the helm, he’s preparing to hand over to Bruce Davie, a local filmmaker and longtime supporter of the festival and a judge for both the national and international categories, and whose company, Hotdogma Script Consultancy, has sponsored the festival for the past five years.

Frohlich said that, as a professional script editor with postgraduate training from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, Davie was the perfect person for the job.

The event, which showcases short films from across the world – and, importantly, from Canberra itself, was vital to Canberra’s film ecosystem, said Frohlich.

It gave filmmakers the chance to see their work on the big screen, alongside international entries. Watching with an audience – hearing them laugh, gasp, or groan – was an experience that can’t be replicated at home. 

Over the years, many feature filmmakers had cut their teeth at the festival, such as Craig Alexander, co-director of the comedy-horror feature Snatchers, part of this year’s Dendy’s Capital Film Festival, and Brendan Kelly and Kaitlyn Boyé, stars and co-writers of horror feature, Break A Leg. 

“It’s not just about winning a trophy, Frohlich said. “It gives filmmakers confidence – the belief that they’re on the right path.

He estimated that this year there were around 70 Canberra-made films, including school entries and music videos, but when he took over in 2015, the festival was a modest weekend event with five categories. Now it spanned 11 categories over nearly two weeks. 

He said he was particularly proud of new streams such as First Nations Stories, the Experimental Film category (run in partnership with PhotoAccess) as well as the Music Video section.

“Music videos are often how emerging filmmakers make money and develop skills,” Frohlich said.

Other key sections were the Animation program which let Canberra animators see their work shown alongside high-level Asian and European films and the schools’ program, which had grown in recent years. 

“Some of these students go on to submit films after they graduate; very rewarding,” he said.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the festival has expanded across the ACT so that official opening night will take place on November 5 at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, in its newly refurbished theatre, followed by a slap-up gala on November 8 at Dendy before a gala awards night at Dendy Cinemas on November 15. Other screenings will be at Smith’s Alternative, PhotoAccess and Kambri cinema. 

Frohlich noted a growing number of filmmakers who had left Canberra and later returned. 

One such artist is Lachlan Ross, who moved to Vancouver to work as a sports broadcaster before turning to filmmaking. His documentary Beautiful Resistance follows an artist painting deep in the Canadian forest – a meditation on art and the environment.

Another is Duncan Ragg, whose comedy short, Over (or how to save the world), co-directed with Anna Phillips sees a father confronting his apathy when his disabled son steals his boat.

“Beautifully written and full of warmth,” Frohlich said.

Among the Canberra-focused highlights will be Hayden Griffiths’ Softly Spoken – a documentary about the quiet Andrew “Monty” Montgomery, founder of Canberra-based outdoor gear company Mont Adventure Equipment.

One of the festival’s signature nights is the Women on Women program, featuring films about women’s experiences, often by all-female crews. 

“There’s a lot of talk about women not getting a fair go in Hollywood,” Frohlich said, “but here in Canberra we’ve got a strong contingent of talented women filmmakers. It’s not quite 50-50 yet, but we’re getting there.”

And his favourite thing about watching a short film? 

“If you don’t like it, he said with a laugh, it’s over in seven minutes.”

Canberra Short Film Festival, November 5-16.