Heathcote Film Festival

Overview

The Heathcote Film Festival is a short film festival that has been running since 2010, showcasing both Australian and international short films in a program that is repeated over two consecutive evenings. Filmmakers are invited to submit short films of less than 15 minutes in the following categories: • Open • Emerging Film Maker This year, all films selected for viewing at the Festival will receive a cash prize of $AUD100, unless the film wins one of our other prizes (check the Awards and Prizes section for full details). We encourage submissions across all genres, and all films are duly considered. Make us laugh, make us think deeply, give us hope, surprise us, shock us, tell us your stories about your world. We are a not-for-profit Short Film Festival run by volunteers who have full support from our local community. Each year, we attract many visitors from our greater region, the nearby city of Melbourne and interstate. We receive sponsorship from the local community bank and a number of local wineries and small businesses as well as other sponsors/grants. Our Festival aims to grow and proliferate film culture in our community and surrounding rural region. The festival was started by a small group of passionate people who have created a much-loved annual event. We aim to celebrate film of all genres, encourage the discussion of film and film-making and to provide a forum for emerging film-makers. We want our Festival to satisfy the needs of film devotees as well as to introduce novices to as broad a range of film as possible in an environment rich with film knowledge and love of film. At our Festival we also endeavour to marry enjoyment of film with the enjoyment of wine and food from our region. The festival is held in late August in Heathcote (Central Victoria) about a 90-minute drive north of Melbourne. Submitted films must be no longer than 15 minutes and can be of any genre. Awards are presented at the main festival in August. We are pleased to continue our emerging film-maker award this year, specifically for early-career film-makers who live in Australia.

Last updated Sep 12, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Trust Signals

Festival Details

FilmFreeway communityGold festival

• Filmmaker

  The festival committee were wonderful to deal with. Honored to have my film screened and awarded here!!

• Filmmaker

  Thank you for hosting our short stop motion animation Cell Buddies at your festival. As a student from Europe I could not attend but on social media it looked like a lot of fun!

• Filmmaker

  A wonderful film festival. Very professional, friendly atmosphere. Great communication and a thrill to screen our film to such a receptive audience. Highly recommend

• Filmmaker

  I wish I could have attended the Heathcote Film Festival, my very first premiere in Australia, not only for The Sign but also as a filmmaker. It’s an honor to have been part of the selection. I received an update on the wonderful turnout and how well the festival went, and I feel both proud and grateful to have been included.

• Filmmaker

  What a wonderful film festival! Heathcote Film Festival is such a warm and welcoming community event, with a fantastic atmosphere from start to finish. As filmmakers, I was made to feel incredibly welcome and genuinely appreciated, which made the whole experience really special. The calibre of films was exceptionally high, with such a diverse and impressive line-up of Australian & international filmmaking talent. It was a real privilege to have my film included amongst such strong work. Lachie & I had an absolutely brilliant experience and would highly recommend the festival to both filmmakers and film lovers.

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