St Kilda Film Festival 2026 (SKFF) presented more than 190 short films across 10 days and five venues, from the Palais Theatre to St Kilda Town Hall.
As Australia’s longest-running short film festival, SKFF continues to champion the short film format and the filmmakers who define it.
This year’s festival celebrated an incredibly talented group of filmmakers, along with the passionate community of cinemagoers who turned out in droves to support Australian film.
A special shout-out to the 2026 award winners, who stood out among an outstanding and expansive program.
Congratulations to ‘Writers in Love’, winner of Best Short Film, and ‘While We Still Have Time’, named Best Documentary. Both films have earned Academy Awards® accreditation.
Full list of award winners:
Best Original Score – Sponsored by AKG and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers
Winner – Kenneth King – Fracture
Best Achievement in Sound Post-production – Sponsored by JBL and the Australian Screen Sound Guild
Winner – Noah Kiely, Gus Threlfall, Keith Thomas – Headphones
Best Achievement in Editing – Sponsored by Roar Digital and Adobe
Winner – Phoebe Taylor – The Shirt Off Your Back
Best Achievement in Screenplay – Sponsored by Cinema Nova and the Australian Writers’ Guild
Winner – Annelise Hickey – Stranger, Brother
Best Achievement in Indigenous Filmmaking – Sponsored by CitiPower
Winner – Bringing His Spirit Home
Best Achievement in Cinematography – Sponsored by Panavision and the Australian Cinematographers Society
Winner – Jaclyn Paterson – The Shirt Off Your Back
Best Young Actor – Sponsored by City of Port Phillip
Winner – VANDALS – Conor Weir and Tobias Cichero
Best Actor – Sponsored by Chameleon Casting
Winner – Nat Damena – Question 57
Best Animation – Sponsored by Deakin University
Winner – The Fling
Best Documentary – Sponsored by Shaun Miller Lawyers
Winner – While We Still Have Time
Best Director – Sponsored by the Australian Directors’ Guild and the Australian Film Television & Radio School
Winner – Celeste Diep – Interview With A Hero
Innovation Award – Sponsored by VicScreen
Winner – INFINIT3
Best Achievement in Production Design – Sponsored by City of Port Phillip
Winner – Imogen Walsh – Headphones
Best Youth Short Film – Sponsored by JMC Academy and City of Port Phillip
Winner – Emile Burford – Manca
Best Short Film – Sponsored by City of Port Phillip
Winner – Writers In Love
