AFIN - International Film Festival

21/04/2026

A great write up from Filmink!

Get your submissions in link below

https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/afin-international-film-festival-returns-in-2026-with-global-filmmaking-talent-and-a-red-carpet-awards-finale-in-brisbane/

The AFIN International Film Festival will return from 13–19 September 2026, bringing filmmakers, screenwriters, film lovers, and industry professionals together for a celebration of bold storytelling, cinematic craft, and international creative exchange.

14/04/2026

🌟🌟🌟
AFIN is proud to have Acting teacher Christopher Sommers on as a sponser and Chris has kindly gifted a 3 pack of private coaching for the winner of Best Australian Performance.

Christopher Sommers is an Australian actor known for his grounded, authentic performances across film, television, and theatre. He’s built a career as a reliable and compelling character actor—someone who brings quiet depth and credibility to every role he takes on.

He appeared in The Water Diviner (2014), working alongside Russell Crowe, a project that helped introduce his work to a broader international audience. On television, he’s had roles in series like Offspring and Underbelly, as well as a recurring part in the family fantasy series The Bureau of Magical Things, where he reached a younger generation of viewers.

Alongside his acting career, Sommers is deeply committed to the craft itself. He co-founded The Factory Acting Studio, where he mentors and trains emerging actors. This balance between working actor and teacher speaks to his genuine passion for storytelling and his investment in the future of the industry.

We have 7 weeks left for submissions so get in your project at the below link
https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

08/04/2026

At AFIN we are always excited to see brilliant Indie productions hit the screen and below is no exception.

🌟 ALPHABET LANE

Written and directed by James Litchfield, the sharp debut feature stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Apple Cider Vinegar, I Am Woman) and Nicholas Denton (Talamasca, Dangerous Liaisons), alongside Helana Sawires (Stateless), Henry Nixon (The Pacific), Alan Dukes (The Stranger) and Bishanyia Vincent (The Twelve).

The film follows an isolated couple who lose control of a joke about imaginary friends. At once quietly unhinged and oddly romantic, it is an inventive exploration of isolation, creativity and the mysteries of love.

It features a unique, playful score by Mark Bradshaw (You Won’t Be Alone), which utilises the humming of actors Ben Whishaw (Paddington) and Alice Englert (Bad Behaviour), and was filmed in NSW’s eerily beautiful remote Monaro region.

Alphabet Lane is a Joe Films production. Principal production funding from Screen Australia. Local distribution by Screen Inc. Developed with the assistance of Screen NSW.

Alphabet Lane is slated to hit Australian cinemas on April 23, 2026.

For our local followers you can catch Alphabet Lane at Angelika Cinemas, Brisbane and Gold Coast Film Festival

Watch the trailer below.
➯ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckJHa2g_q0E

31/03/2026

Our festival last year received so many amazing entries.

It is such an honour for us here at AFIN to be able to watch/read the wonderful submissions that passionate creators all over the world submitted to us.

Here is a sample of some of our winners from last year and their artwork.

At AFIN, we celebrate:

* Excellence Beyond Constraints: Artistic value and originality over budget or privilege.

* Global Cultural Exchange: Bringing international filmmakers and screenwriters together to share stories and perspectives

* Fair and Transparent Judging: No favoritism—just the best work, judged on its merits.
If you're looking for an authentic, inclusive festival that values your voice and vision, you've found it here.

If you wish to submit please do so at link below. Remember we have one entry fee and do not charge for indiviual performance and technical awards.

https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

15/03/2026

At last year's awards night we had some special messages from some amazing people and one was from Sir Richard Taylor the CEO of WETA, 5 time Academy Award winner, 4 time BAFTA winner and has been involved in some the biggest films of all time notably the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. A truely talented, creative and special man, we were honoured to have him a part of the AFIN Awards.

If you would like to submit this year, please do so via the link below.

https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

03/03/2026

Only 3 days left to submit before the next deadline!

🔑 Highlights of the Festival:
* Screenplay-to-Screen Production Prize: A rare chance to see your short story turned into a professionally produced film.

* Inclusive Recognition: Animated films are fully eligible within our Feature and Short Film categories, ensuring a fair competition for all storytelling formats.

* Truly Inclusive Community: Celebrating diverse voices, stories, and cultures from across the globe.

* Global Collaboration: Connecting Australian filmmakers with international peers to foster creativity and cross-cultural exchange.

* Fair and Transparent: Judged solely on artistic and technical merit—no bias, no privilege, just quality storytelling.

* Genre less festival - We accept all genres of works, so long as it does not break rules.

https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

28/02/2026

AFIN has a diverse and super talented team of judges all with their own skills and specilties in the film industry. We are excited this year to welcome Jadey Duffield to AFIN.

Jadey Duffield is an award-winning English director, screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her eccentric action comedies consisting of Bafta qualifying 10 Minutes For A Pound, Sticky Fingers (starring BAFTA nominee Amit Shah) The Last Dumpling and BFI's Art of Action Quadrilogy. With a robust background in dance, mo-cap and all things action, Jadey has worked on 'Fast & Furious 6', 'The Huntsman: Winter's War', 'Ready Player One', 'The World's End' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

At AFIN we only have one entry fee and don't charge for indiviual technical and artistic awards.

Submissions are open via the link below -
https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

11/02/2026

A great article from the Coronado Times in Californiam, USA on one of our past winners and now currently one of this years judges, Michael Silberblatt

Full acticle can be found here
https://coronadotimes.com/news/2026/01/21/chs-2010-grad-michael-silberblatt-wins-at-2025-afin/

AFIN Best Supporting Performance win

On learning that he won Best Supporting Performance, Michael says he was in complete shock. He takes us back to the beginning of the monumental week. “I saw one of the festival’s co-directors, Vicky Wanless, at each of the screening days. She was very kind.” Michael switches into a perfect Australian accent as he continues, “And she was like, ‘Hey, Michael, I want to let you know that it’s a huge pleasure to be a part of this festival, and just being here, you are a winner. But we can only choose one winner, so don’t be disappointed or anything. You’re here, and it’s truly an honor.” Michael laughs and drops the accent as he continues, “I figured she was letting me down easy. I was not expecting to win whatsoever. I was just happy to be there, and quite frankly, I saw all the other performances that were nominated in my same category.”
As humble as Michael is, he says, “If it were up to me, as objectively as possible, I would not have even voted for me. I would have voted for at least two of the other actors in that category above myself. So, I was truly, truly shocked. My dad was there in the audience. It was his first time in Australia. It was really special to have him there. There’s a video out there somewhere on social media. When my name was announced, I froze. He’s the one who’s shouting and clapping like a three-year-old child. He was more visibly excited than I was.”

Submission are open https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

CHS and CoSA grad Michael Silberblatt wins Best Supporting Performance at the AFIN International Film Festival in Australia.

01/02/2026

AFIN 2025 Awards let us meet a record-amount of nominees! Our MC, William Kasper, managed to catch many of our nominees and our Rising Star 2025 recipient, Murran Kain, for interviews by the red carpet.

Enjoy the interviews!

We would love to see your projects for 2026 and we are still very much open for entries!

2025 Red Carpet Interviews (in Order):
Andrey Goulter - A message to the author
Shane P. Allen - If you should leave before me
Kate, Craig, Shannon - The Celebrant TV Show
Ashlee Lollback - The Celebrant TV Show
Izzy Ford - She Wore Blue
Michael Silberblatt - Devil's Playground
Patrick Hatfield - This too shall pass
Seraphine Harley - Man Eater
Murran Kain - Rising Star award / Presenter
Tanya Rich - 2020 Vision

12/01/2026

Another very talented Judge we have on board this year is Jessica Orcsik!

Jessica is a versatile storyteller whose work blends adventure, imagination and hope. She began her career at age four on the Australian TV series Richmond Hill and has spent over 35 years as an actress, performer and filmmaker across film, television, theatre and music videos. Her passion for better creative education, mental health advocacy and opportunities for artists has led her into public speaking, mentoring, hosting, and launching her podcast ArtArtistBiz, soon to expand into an online talk show.


Driven by creativity and a commitment to inclusion, she has produced theatre productions, film projects, national and international events, workshops and shows supporting diverse communities, while contributing to charities such as Focus On Ability, Special Olympics Australia and the Carmen Duncan Foundation. As CEO of The American Arts Film & Television Academy (AAFTA) and founder of Diversity Entertainment/Diversity Pictures, she champions innovative, inclusive storytelling and supports artists across Australia and the USA.


Her producing and directing credits include A Death Perspective (Artists Emerging Initiative), Unsound (winner of Melbourne Q***r Festival; Top 10 Australian Films of 2020; now on Netflix), and Enigma, which earned multiple awards including Best Cinematography, Best LGBTQ Film and accolades for writing and directing. Recent honours include Best Female Director at Cannes Worldwide Film Festival and Best Director at Los Angeles Film Awards for After Roe Falls and Starry Eyed. She also produced the acclaimed play Dead Skin, winner of the Hollywood Fringe Encore Producers Award. Her feature project Reverie was a semi-finalist at Scriptapalooza and Your Script Produced.

Jessica recently joined Rockwell Media Partners and is developing a slate of new projects, including Queens of the Desert, Spiral, Reverie and Alphabetas.

Submit at link below

https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

17/12/2025

If you thought our judging team couldn't get better with the amount of talent we have onboard, well you would be wrong! Pleased to announce the amazing Bruce Hopkins from New Zealand is is one of our esteemed adjudicators for AFIN.

Before entering acting, Bruce led a life far removed from the limelight. He worked as a crayfisherman like his father and later trained as a physical-education teacher. In his early twenties, he discovered a passion for contemporary dance — a path that led him to a professional dance career spanning several years in both New Zealand and Australia.

By the mid-1980s, Hopkins transitioned into acting. Over decades he built a diverse career in theatre, film, television, voice-acting, and radio.

Bruce is perhaps best known for his role as Ga***ng a loyal warrior in the armies of Rohan, in the cinematic adaptations of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) directed by Peter Jackson. Working on popular shows such as Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules series. He also contributed his voice to the character “Choobo,” an alien villain in the television series Power Rangers Ninja Storm.

Bruce continues to be active both in the arts and in charitable/community endeavours.

Submissions via the Film Freeway link below

https://filmfreeway.com/AFINInternationalFilmFestival

14/12/2025

We have a vast array of judges for AFIN, all professionals in their own right that bring a wealth of knowledge and creativity to the team. Another new judge to join us for this season is the creative powerhouse of Tanya Rich. Tanya just won a Best Actress award last week at the Victorian Drama League Awards.

Tanya Rich is a Melbourne-based actor whose career spans over two decades across theatre, film, and television. Her foundations in performance and storytelling were shaped early, beginning with intensive studies in Film, TV, and Theatre in the United Kingdom in 2002. Driven by a passion for immersive method performance, Tanya continued her training at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles in 2006, where she expanded her craft in film and theatre acting.

As a performer, Tanya has appeared in numerous theatre productions, independent short films, and feature films, embracing a wide range of characters and genres, and was lucky enough to have worked with some of Australia’s best talents including Sarah Snook, Shane Jacobson and Pia Miranda. Most recently, Tanya appeared as the lead in the award winning short film ’2020 Vision’ which has had great success in the 2025 Australian film festivals.

Her work behind the scenes is equally accomplished. Tanya is an award-winning playwright and director, earning multiple theatre accolades including Best Play, Best Playwright, and Best Director for her original short-form works. Her understanding of stagecraft also extends to technical production, with hands-on experience as a theatre sound and lighting technician and operator.