2025 Lights, Camera, Donate! Short Film Competition Winner Announced

by FilmInk Staff

Good Neighbour by Julian Lucas has been chosen as the winner of the Lights, Camera, Donate! Short Film Festival presented by the NSW Organ & Tissue Donation Service.

This year’s winner was revealed at a Flickerfest screening at the Bondi Pavillion on Saturday, 25 January with $5,000 given out to the winner and $500 to the runner up.

The winner was picked from a selection of 53 short films, with the best 8 making the Lights, Camera, Donate! Program.

This year’s jury comprised of Actor and President of the ‘Wear It Purple’ organisation Brenna Harding; Filmmaker Roy Weiland; and BSc (Hons) PhD kidney disease researcher and kidney donation recipient Brooke Huuskes.

The competition was open to young Australian filmmakers encouraging them to create films that spark conversations about organ and tissue donation. This initiative is especially crucial considering that only 10% of Australians aged 16 to 25 are currently registered as organ and tissue donors.

Good Neighbour’s winning submission follows Phil, hospitalised with kidney failure, and his neighbour Jeff, who offers to donate a kidney. This film blends humour and emotion to explore the boundaries of friendship and the ethical challenges of organ transplantation.

The runner up The Talk [creators pictured] followed a young woman’s decision to become an organ donor and her attempts to initiate a conversation about her wishes with her mum, who mistakenly believes they are about to have a very different kind of ‘talk’.

Message from Competition Director Lachlan Salvestro

Competition Director Lachlan Salvestro thanked all competition entrants emphasising the quality of submitted entries, he shared “We had an incredible calibre of films entered in our competition.’ He shared “However, the winner ‘Good Neighbour’ and runner up ‘The Talk’ were exemplary examples of our judging criteria, Australian filmmaking and truth telling.

Salvestro also noted the variety of mediums submitted, ranging from stop motion to hand-drawn animation to live action. “This competition brought out an incredible amount of creativity from our entrants,” he said. “The restrictions for the competition pushed the directors to think outside the box.”

Message from NSW Organ & Tissue Donation Service, Manager Corporate, Stakeholders and Community Vicki Harding

NSW Organ & Tissue Donation Service, Manager Corporate, Stakeholders and Community, Vicki Harding highlighted the winning and runner up short films skilfully portrayed the complexities associated with organ and tissue donation.

“The judging committee was impressed with the selection of submissions particularly around the accurate messaging on organ donation and film techniques. The winning films delivered a strong message around starting a conversation around organ donation, kept to the facts, dispelling myths around organ donation.

“We would love to see a continuation of this film festival in the coming years. By creating compelling films that encourage others to register as organ and tissue donors our entrants sparked essential conversations about donation with loved ones and families.

“80% of Australians aged 16 and above support organ donation – yet only 7 million have registered. This number should be closer to 16 million.”

Winner of the Lights, Camera, Donate! Short Film Festival ($5,000 cash prize)