2026 Award Winners
We are thrilled to announce the winners for Australia's Top Short Film Competition in the 2026 St Kilda Film Festival.
Best Short Film
The Best Short Film award is proudly supported by the City of Port Phillip.
Under the Radar - Best Youth Short Film
The Best Youth Short Film award is proudly supported by the City of Port Phillip and JMC Academy.
Innovation Award
The Innovation award is proudly sponsored by VicScreen.
Best Director
The Best Director award is proudly sponsored by the Australian Directors’ Guild and AFTRS.
Best Documentary
The Best Documentary award is proudly sponsored by Shaun Miller Lawyers.
Best Animation
The Best Animation award is proudly sponsored by Deakin University.
Best Actor
The Best Actor award is proudly sponsored by Chameleon Casting.
Winner
- Nat Damena - Question 57
Nominees
- Will McDonald - Boy on Fire
- Hattie Hook - Safe Hands
- Brandon McClelland - Writers in Love
- Roxie Mohebbi - Writers in Love
Best Young Actor
The Best Young Actor award is proudly sponsored by the City of Port Phillip.
Winners
- Conor Weir - VANDALS
- Tobias Cichero - VANDALS
Nominees
- Tamaki Simpson - Hafu
- Sara Sekiya - Hafu
- Samson Uili - Stranger, Brother
- Eden Wendt - The Shirt Off Your Back
- Blye Hawk - The Shirt Off Your Back
Best Achievement in Cinematography
The Best Achievement in Cinematography award is proudly sponsored by the Australian Cinematographers Society and Panavision.
Winner
- Jaclyn Paterson - The Shirt Off Your Back
Nominees
- Aaron McLisky - Feral
- T. Oxford - Fracture
- Devamanikandan Kannaya Somu - Interview With A Hero
Best Achievement in Indigenous Filmmaking
The Best Achievement in Indigenous Filmmaking award is proudly sponsored by CitiPower.
Best Achievement in Screenplay
The Best Achievement in Screenplay award is proudly sponsored by the Australian Writers’ Guild and Cinema Nova.
Best Achievement in Editing
The Best Achievement in Editing award is proudly sponsored by Roar Digital and Adobe.
Winner
- Phoebe Taylor - The Shirt Off Your Back
Nominees
- Rob Draper - Australian Made
- Sarah Panzetta - Question 57
- Christine Cheung - Writers In Love
Best Achievement in Production Design
The Best Achievement in Production Design award is proudly sponsored by the City of Port Phillip.
Winner
- Imogen Walsh - Headphones
Nominees
- Nathan Evans - Interview With A Hero
- Elena Lyons-Dawson - The Fling
- Cloe Jouin - Transcendence
Best Achievement in Sound Post-Production
The Best Achievement in Sound Post-Production award is proudly sponsored by the Australian Screen Sound Guild and JBL.
Winners
- Noah Kiely, Gus Threlfall, Keith Thomas - Headphones
Nominees
- Kevin Chan, Liam Dennis - Fracture
- Wade Keighran - The Shirt Off Your Back
- Emma Bortignon - Writers In Love
Best Original Score
The Best Original Score award is proudly sponsored by the Australian Guild of Screen Composers and AKG.
Winner
- Kenneth King - Fracture
Nominees
- James Mountain - Feral
- Alex Olijnk - Pulp
- Johnny Mackay - Question 57
