It is said that writing a good short story is more exacting than writing a novel. In some ways, making a good short film is more exacting than making a feature.
In a short film, each scene needs to punch above its screen time.
The reputation of the Benalla National and International Short Film Festival is based upon the quality of the films it has shown over the past 11 years.
All the films exhibited in the 2025 Benalla Short Film Festival conveyed a great deal in a short time. The result was a treat for the audience because of the high quality of films and a wide range of genres and locations.
Beginning with sweeping views of the Victorian coast and interviews with women surfers (Women of the Waves), then to Iran for a drama set mostly in a school in inner-city Tehran (The Pomegranate), to a curious homecoming in a dwindling town on a disused railway line in rural Victoria (Stonewall).
And then to an extravagant mansion in England via a house in Melbourne suburbia, tracking an alleged episode from the life of infamous gangland warrior Mick Gatto (The Mediator), who was played brilliantly by veteran actor Steve Bastoni, who won best performance.
The comedies included a flight of fancy in an Australian restaurant (A Culinary of Errors) and a mockumentary about how to survive the wildlife in Australia, from spiders to drop-bears (Koala-fied to Survive), which won Local Award and People's Choice Award.
Then there’s a film about a chic couple in a post-modern café in Paris who fantasise about a bizarre trip to a French beach (The Story of Angelique), and a faithful rendition of the Aurora Australis as seen in and around Benalla between May 2024 and January 2025, condensed into a psychedelic three minutes that won the Kevin Perry Encouragement Award.
From there we were transported to a home in rural USA, where a phone call propels a mother and daughter on a path towards connection and the mysteries held in the act of letting go (Hold), which won Best International Film.
Finally, the audience was transported into the weird and disquieting world of Australian corporate servitude in the riveting thriller/comedy/satire Human Resources, winner of the Judge’s Award Best Australian.
The opening film, Women of the Waves, won Best Documentary. It provided an intriguing feminine insight into what has been a male-dominated sport.
This film was directed by Monash student Han Soo Yoo. In a little over five minutes, it took us into the minds and experiences of four women who had found ways to survive and thrive in a sport that presents challenges not just from the ocean, but from the existing paradigm that tends to place women further down the wave hierarchy.
The Pomegranate, a film from Iran, about a grandmother who had custody of her grandson at a time that he was expelled from his school, enthralled and intrigued, keeping us guessing until the last moment. The lead performances were exquisite. This film was runner-up in the People's Choice Award.
That award went to Benalla-born Hayley Warnock, who backed up her Local Award in 2024 with another cracker this year.
Hold, from the US, touched on universal truths about families, relationships, the tendency to hold on, and the gentle art of letting go. The film played with humour and compassion, ultimately showing how easy it is to misunderstand each other, and how even when we are separated by an apparent chasm, when a major life-event occurs and might threaten to drive people apart, it is possible to reconnect in a meaningful way.
As film-makers consider their entries for next year, they may reflect that the successful films at Benalla Shorts are often good-humoured and well-crafted.
Production values are important, but this doesn’t mean the budget needs to be huge.
Rather than over-ambitious projects or elaborate productions, a good idea, simply shot and well-edited, is more likely to make it on to the big screen.
And sitting in a darkened auditorium as your film is shown to an audience is probably the best way to develop your craft.
If you are interested in putting a film in for consideration for the Benalla Short Film Festival, visit benallashorts.com
One of the pleasures of judging this film festival is the number of excellent entries from around the world.
We appreciate the time people have taken to produce films and send them out to us for our consideration.
As we were writing this, we received the following message from the makers of Hold:
Thank you so much for a wonderful festival and your belief in films. We were delighted that our film Hold was in this year’s festival and truly honoured to win the International Film Award. This win feels particularly special for us as the real doctor in our film, who “Dr Spitzer” was based off, was from Benalla. He was an amazing oncologist. The film and this win feel like an honour to his memory. Many thanks for your generosity and for the honour to be part of Benalla Film Festival.
If you missed this year’s Benalla Short Film Festival there will be an opportunity to view the films in Violet Town in early 2026.
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