Steering the Flickerfest ship since 1997, Bronwyn Kidd has seen the festival grow from a local beachside screening into an Academy Award-qualifying juggernaut. But as Kidd tells Mediaweek, this year’s 35th anniversary brings a distinct new challenge to the celebration.
35 Years of ‘Shorts’ on the Beach
Mediaweek: It’s been 27 years for you at the helm, is that right? I can’t imagine these festivals are getting any easier to put together.
Bronwyn Kidd: Ah, look, every year comes with new challenges. Our profile has grown exponentially, and being Oscar qualifying brings some really great kudos for the festival, but also an abundance of entries.
We had over 3,700 entries this year from across the world. It’s great to have the profile and international recognition, but it also adds a huge layer of what the festival has to deliver in managing all those entries.
There is an incredible number of talented filmmakers to choose from.
MW: How do you cut down from 3,700 to the final selection of 180 or so?
BK: It’s a really massive process. We have over 60 or 70 people on a volunteer pre-selection committee, including filmmakers and other industry experts. From there, we have a programming team of around eight people that select the final entries.
It’s a big jigsaw puzzle that comes together in the end and arrives on the screens at Bondi over 10 days, and then, of course, we tour to 40 venues across Australia.
MW: Speaking of the tour, how vital is that national roadshow now?
BK: We tour until October, so there’s no real downtime for Flickerfest!
We go everywhere from Cairns to Darwin, often navigating the wet season to find the right time to screen outdoors.
The digital revolution really changed the landscape; when we moved from lugging 30-kilo cases of 35mm film to digital files, it meant we could screen in country halls and remote venues that wouldn’t otherwise afford cinema technology.
We give access to this fantastic short cinema for audiences in rural and remote places, and that is a really rewarding part of what we do.
The Actor-Director Boom
MW: When you started back in 1998, were you getting a few hundred entries compared to the thousands you see now?
BK: Absolutely. The first year I started back in 1997, we had 200 entries. When we became Oscar qualifying in 2002 that really upped the ante of our profile around the world.
Renée Zellweger will premiere her directorial debut at Flickerfest in 2026
Getting on that list has meant a lot for the volume of entries and the calibre of filmmakers.
We’ve got a film this year from Renée Zellweger who’s doing her Australian premiere with us. It’s her first film as a director.
Renée Zellweger’s animated passion project, entitled ‘They’
MW: And she isn’t the only big name this year, is she?
BK: No, we have another film from Robert Carlyle, and Matt Day is directing a film starring Hugo Weaving. We also have Michala Banas making her directorial debut. It seems to be a year for actor-directors.
But alongside the big names, there are lots of undiscovered names who will go on to be the next big thing. That is really rewarding to see. Amazing people going on to do great things in the industry.
Matt Day’s ‘Baby Shower’ with L to R, Helen Thompson, Contessa Treffone, and Hugo Weaving
The Industry Pipeline
MW: Do you see the role of Flickerfest to help a challenged industry by giving another avenue for talent to be discovered?
BK: Absolutely, and that’s what it’s all about. We’re a platform for discovery. When people like David Michôd, Nash & Joel Edgerton, and Leah Purcell come through Flickerfest with their early shorts and go on to be significant creators- that is a big part of what we offer.
You have to start somewhere. You have to have an opportunity to learn, develop your craft, and be seen by the industry. We’ve got to have pathways.
Joel edgerton and Lisa Chappell in David Michôd’s 2007 Australian short film ‘Crossbow’
MW: Running a festival of this size isn’t cheap. How does the business work?
BK: We are supported by Screen Australia and Screen NSW, and Specsavers among others. We’re really appreciative of the funding that we do get. There’s never enough funding for short film, or for arts in Australia generally, but it’s a passion project. It’s not about the box office or commercial aspirations; it’s about cinema in its purest form.
A Community in Recovery
MW: Bondi has been the home of Flickerfest for almost three decades. Post-December 14, setting up at the Pavilion again… What are your feelings about that?
BK: Look, definitely. It’s incredibly tragic. It’s unbelievable to think that this would happen in Bondi. There’s a lot of pain for so many people. I guess I just hope, having been a part of the fabric of Bondi for the last 29 years, that we can bring a little bit of hope, perhaps some healing, and a little bit more connection and light back to Bondi.
We want to show some different perspectives on the human experience, different to what certainly has been the pervasive mood of the past month.
MW: The festival at the Pavilion would have been a carefree event in previous years.
BK: I think everyone in Bondi is impacted. We feel a huge responsibility to move forward sensitively with a festival that will bring some connection and humanness back to Bondi.
But we’ve seen there is a good appetite for coming back just through ticket sales. People are very keen to come together again.
Oscar winner and Flickerfest alum, Adam Elliot is a standout for Bronwyn. ‘Brother’ will feature in this year’s retrospective
MW: The longevity of the festival is a testament to the community’s resilience. When you look back at the archives for this year’s retrospective, are there films that perfectly capture the spirit you want to celebrate?
BK: Oh look, absolutely. I think that’s reflected in my 35-year retrospective program. When I look back at the early films of Adam Elliott, who of course went on to win Oscars. His early trilogy, Uncle, Cousin, Brother, was one of my favourites.
It represents the beautiful, heartwarming, humorous, unique filmmaking that shorts are all about.
The Flickerfest 35th International Short Film Festival runs from January 23 to February 1, 2026.
Main Image: Flickerfest Director, Bronwyn Kidd