By Travis Johnson
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) today announced the nominees for Best Short Fiction Film and Best Short Animation at the 2018 AACTA Awards.
Competing for Best Short Fiction Film are Charles Williams’ Palme d’Or-winning All These Creatures; Judas Collar, which had its world premiere earlier this year at Sydney Film Festival; the Sydney Film Festival 2018 Rouben Mamoulian Best Director Award-winning Nursery Rhymes, starring Sara West and Toby Wallace; and the Berlinale 2018 and SXSW 2018 Award nominated Tangles and Knots, starring Odessa Young and Leeanna Walsmann.
The nominees for Best Short Animation are AACTA #SocialShorts winner Radheya Jegatheva’s iRony; the Sydney Film Festival 2018 Yoram Gross Animation Award-winning Lost and Found; Claymation Monster’s Playground, narrated by Claudia Karvan; and UTS students Haein Kim and Paul Rhodes’ Peepin’.
AACTA also announced that the Festival of Australian Film will now be split into three new specialist Festivals: AACTA Shorts Fest, AACTA Docs Fest and AACTA Film Fest, with each featuring a tailored program of exclusive screenings, masterclass events, and learning and networking opportunities. Shorts Fest will take place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth from Monday 20 August, opening with AACTA’s Oscars Short Film Program of the 2018 Oscar-nominated Animated and Live Action Short Films.
“We are thrilled to see so many first-time nominees in the short film categories this year, many of whom have seen great success both here and internationally, highlighting the incredible talent within Australian short films,” said AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella. “We look forward to bringing these great short films and their filmmakers to centre stage during Shorts Fest this year, as well as Australia’s outstanding documentaries and feature films during Docs Fest and Film Fest respectively.”