Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival

Overview

Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival is the biggest short film festival in regional Australia with over 100 short films, events and panels over four days in Gympie, Queensland. Celebrated as ‘triumphant’ by Australia’s ScreenHub, our festival is dedicated to inspiring and connecting audiences through short films that champion the richness of the human spirit. The small town of Gympie comes alive with film lovers from far and wide every year in a joyous celebration of storytelling. Heart of Gold lovingly curates sessions of short films from all genres that best capture our vision to screen films that are heart-warming, thought-provoking and entertaining. The films can be edgy, they can be groundbreaking and they can be downright hilarious – as long as they beat with a good, strong heart. The festival glows with a widely-renowned mix of country hospitality and global ideas—offering hospitality to visiting filmmakers, engaging conversations with interviewers and locals, and plenty of opportunity to mingle with filmmakers, speakers, hosts and locals at the festival’s own Gold Bar. We love our filmmakers in attendance and if your film is selected for our program all effort is given to allow you the time to introduce, and discuss your film in front of a live audience. Our unique selection process involves submitted films being viewed by multiple community screener groups across Queensland, whose feedback informs selection for the Festival program. This inclusive process catches niche gems and represents a broader spectrum of film taste. In 2026 we celebrate 20 years of Heart of Gold and we look forward to sharing a great Festival program and associated events with the screen industry and community. ‘Heart of Gold is a rare festival, in that its remit is focused but also their quality of content that they screen is stellar.’ (Festival Formula) Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival strongly encourages submissions from filmmakers who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, female, LGBTQIA+, living with a disability, regionally based and culturally and linguistically diverse.

Last updated Sep 6, 2026

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Festival Details

FilmFreeway communityGold festival

• Filmmaker

  So much fun! Great venues, filmmaker networking/activities and awesome community vibe.

• Filmmaker

  Daniel Jeppesen-Field

• Filmmaker

  We were over the moon to play at the beautiful Heart of Gold International Film Festival! The name says it all - from start to finish the communication, the team and the support was excellent. We were stoked to play in such a great line up, thank you for having us! Would highly recommended.

• Filmmaker

  An honour and a privilege to be nominated for Best Emerging Director at Heart of Gold! My heart was in Queensland, Australia for this one, even if my body couldn't make it. -Paul (Director of Teddy on the Edge)

• Filmmaker

  Thank you so much for screening Cell Buddies at your festival and even taking it on your tour! We are honored to be part of your program. It’s been an incredible year for this student film, traveling to over 40 countries. We’ve seen that audiences worldwide really connect with the story, and we hope your audience enjoyed the screening as much as we enjoyed being part of your event. Thanks for supporting independent stop motion animation.

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