AFIN - International Film Festival

23/08/2026

Best International Short Film. Your 2026 nominees.

Six films, five countries, and not one of them longer than 25 minutes.

A GIRL CALLED ALICE (United Kingdom), directed by Tristan Loraine
EMPATHY REHEARSALS (Italy), directed by Jacopo Cullin
SCARY LULLABY (Russia), directed by Daria Lebedeva
SOMETHING POINTLESS (United Kingdom), directed by Asa Bailey
SOUND OF THE SOMME Sound of the Somme (Belgium), directed by Michaël Vermaercke
THE LINGERING (United States), directed by Gabe Reiss

This is the category that reminds us how far the festival reaches. Six countries' worth of post codes, one screen in Brisbane, and a set of films that between them run from eleven minutes to twenty four.

Every one of them has a page on the site now, with the film, the credits and a laurel the team can keep.

The winner is announced at the AFIN Awards Night, Saturday 19 September 2026 at SunPAC, Brisbane.

See all six: https://www.afinfestival.com/results/2026/

22/08/2026

There is a second, right before a name gets read out, where an entire room stops breathing.

That second is what we build the whole year around.

This is our ninth AFIN. Sixty eight films from seventeen countries, thirty one of them Australian, across twenty one award categories. Every one of them made by someone who found the time, the money and the nerve to finish something.

On Saturday 19 September we put them on a stage at SunPAC and we say their names out loud.

Some of the people coming have never had a film screened before they walked into that room. Some of them flew in from the other side of the world. All of them made something and sent it to us, which is the bravest part of the whole thing.

The festival runs 15 to 19 September. Awards Night is the Saturday. Formal, cocktail or cultural attire, whatever makes you feel like yourself at your best.

Come and be in the room, network, be seen, celebrate all nominees with us, and

🎟 afinfestival.com/tickets

22/08/2026

Best Cinematography. Six films, five countries, one category.

The 2026 nominees for Best Cinematography at the AFIN International Film Festival:

My Soul Is in a Hurry (Italy)
Red River Cowboy (Australia)
Scary lullaby (Russia)
Sound of the Somme (Belgium)
The Song of Colour (Australia)
This Bloody Country (USA)

Cinematography is the part of a film you feel before you can name it. These six earned their place.

Voice over by the talented Savanna Crasto.

SEE NOMINEES ON THE BIG SCREEN
Three screening nights at Dendy Cinemas Portside, Brisbane.
Mon 15, Tue 16 and Wed 17 September, 6:30pm. $21 per night.

Then the Awards Night, Saturday 19 September at SunPAC Brisbane, where the winners are announced. Formal, cocktail or cultural attire.

Book now: afinfestival.com/tickets

Our ninth season. Come and see what nine years of independent film looks like.

22/08/2026

Temple, from the USA

AFIN 2026 Nominee
⭐Best International Supporting Performance
⭐Best Film Editing

Jean returns home after his grandmother’s passing to find his grandfather, George, ensnared by a manipulative religious sect exploiting his dementia, compelling Jean to navigate a labyrinth of fading memories and moral dilemmas to protect his grandfather from losing everything.

Screening at Dendy Cinemas Portside
AFIN - Screening night 2 16th Sep 2026

https://events.humanitix.com/afin-2026-screening-night-2

20/08/2026

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE. Your 2026 nominees.

Six films. Four countries. One category that asked more of us than
almost any other this year.

Ekosistem Rasa: The Gula Anau Story (Brunei)
The Witchdoctor and the Windmill (Australia)
Girls Don't Cry (Germany)
My Soul Is in a Hurry (Italy)
Born to Brawl (Australia)
Eric & Robyn and the Mythical beasts (Australia)

Documentary is the form where somebody has to earn the right to be in the room, then keep the camera steady while it matters. Every one of
these did that, and did it somewhere most crews never get to.

Congratulations to all six. We cannot wait to have you with us.

Winners are announced at the Awards Night, 19 September, SunPAC
Sunnybank. Screenings run 15 to 17 September at Dendy Portside.

www.afinfestival.com

Voice over by the talented Savanna Crasto.

19/08/2026

BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY
Your 2026 nominees.

Six scripts, and not one of them is trying to be the same film.

Fillers, by Adam Ethan Crow
Hitman Wanted, by Amanda Lay
Stay, by Indy Davies Good Run
Goodbye Ted, by Ged Maybury
The Nine Lives, by Jason A. Green
Of My Blood, by Shannon Glover

A screenplay nomination is a strange and lovely thing to win.

There is no cast to carry it, no cut to save it and no score to lift it. Somebody sat down and got it right on the page, which is where every film any of us love actually started.

Congratulations to all six. We will read out the result on Awards Night, Saturday 19 September, at SunPAC in Sunnybank, and not a
minute before.

Voice over by the talented Savanna Crasto.

Tickets and the full programme: afinfestival.com

See less

18/08/2026

Hell, from the USA

AFIN 2026 Nominee

⭐Best International Micro Film

A place where dreams are real, wishes come true, and everything is always awful for everyone.

The first installment of the Hard Times anthology, Hell, follows the patriarch of a dying farm on the outskirts of Ash Harbor as he is methodically ground down by the machinery of despair. What begins as endurance curdles into something far more existential, a portrait of collapse told through dust, labor, and silence.

Hell made its world premiere in 2026 at Animation Di**le, where it quickly garnered critical acclaim and went on to collect multiple awards at festivals around the world.

Screening at Dendy Cinemas Portside
AFIN - Screening night 3 17th Sep 2026
Tickets here https://events.humanitix.com/afin-2026-screening-night-3

17/08/2026

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE. Your 2026 nominees.

Six films. Four countries. One category that asked more of us than
almost any other this year.

Ekosistem Rasa: The Gula Anau Story (Brunei)
The Witchdoctor and the Windmill (Australia)
Girls Don't Cry (Germany)
My Soul Is in a Hurry (Italy) FA Production Studio
Born to Brawl (Australia)
Eric & Robyn and the Mythical Beasts (Australia)

Documentary is the form where somebody has to earn the right to be in the room, then keep the camera steady while it matters. Every one of these did that, and did it somewhere most crews never get to.

Congratulations to all six. We cannot wait to have you with us.

Winners are announced at the Awards Night, 19 September, SunPAC Sunnybank. Screenings run 15 to 17 September at Dendy Portside.

Voice over by the talented Savanna Crasto.

www.afinfestival.com

15/08/2026

Alone, from Australia

AFIN 2026 Nominee
⭐Best Australian Lead Performance
⭐Best Australian Micro Film

A young widow seeking solace is lured into a dinner gathering by a charismatic man from her grief support group, only to discover that the empty guest list and eerie noises hide a sinister trap.

Screening at Dendy Cinemas Portside
AFIN - Screening night 2 16th Sep 2026
Tickets here https://www.afinfestival.com/program/2026/ -

13/08/2026

Sound of the Somme, from Belgium

AFIN 2026 Nominee
⭐Best International Short Film
⭐Best Director
⭐Best Sound and Music
⭐Best Cinematography
⭐Best VFX

Sound of the Somme tells the true story of private James C. Richardson, a 20-year-old bagpiper serving in the 16th Canadian Scottish Battalion. Despite being assigned to stay behind as stretcher bearer, James is determined to play his bagpipes in the heat of the battle. His unwavering resolve to support his comrades and boost morale leads him to defy orders, risking his life to bring a glimmer of hope amidst the horrors of war. This heroic act earned James the Victoria Cross, the highest honor within the British Commonwealth.

Screening at Dendy Cinemas Portside
AFIN - Screening night 2 16th Sep 2026
Tickets here https://www.afinfestival.com/program/2026/ -2

https://vimeo.com/1181205823?fl=pl&fe=vl

Sound of the Somme tells the true story of the last day in the journal of 20-year-old bagpiper James C. Richardson that awarded him the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award, for his bravery and action during the Battle of the Somme in WWI. Directed by Michaël Vermaercke A Quilombo...