SHORT FILM COMPETITION
In 2026, the Irish Film Festival Australia (IFF) will stage our first Short Film Competition as part of our festival season. The competition is open to fiction and documentary with all genres welcome – drama, comedy, animation, experimental and anything in between. The winning films will be screened as part of IFF26’s Irish-Australian Short Film Competition.
To view last year’s program, visit here.
To qualify, the submitted films must:
• Have Irish themes, storylines, characters or locations, OR
• Have a principal participant (director, producer or actor) who has Irish heritage
• Be original works and meet all eligibility requirements regarding music and copyright
• Be less than 15 minutes in length INCLUDING credits
• Have been completed after January 1st 2024 (incl.)
• Be presented in their original versions with English language subtitles or commentary where necessary
• Be uploaded in MP4 format (resolution of 1920X1080 px, at least)
Prizes will be awarded to the Best Australian-Made Film and the Best Internationally-Made Film.
A $20 AUD fee is required to enter. To enter, please submit your short film via Film Freeway:
Film submissions close 30th April 2026 at 11:59pm AEDT.
The entrant agrees that images and clips from their film may be used by IFF in promotional activities across IFF’s website and social media. By entering the Irish-Australian Short Film Competition, you undertake that you will observe the rules of the competition.
Official Festival selection will be publicly announced in September 2026. Successful entrants will be notified via FilmFreeway. Details of selected films will also be posted on our website. The judges’ decisions are final.
COPYRIGHT
• Filmmakers are responsible for securing all copyright clearances and music rights.
• Filmmakers must disclose any use of AI in the production of their films.