What role do you think the St. Kilda film festival plays in the Australian short film scene?
A pretty pivotal one – it’s still the broadest showcase available for Australian shorts, and unlike other short film festivals St. Kilda makes no prescriptions on genre, subject, length, formats or “ideological” values (try showing Matt Williamson’s provocative Barry And Garry [1998, Aust] at other festivals and see what happens), which makes for a welcome diversity. The prizes may not be as lucrative as at other festivals (though no serious short filmmaker is in it for the money alone), but winning an award at St. Kilda nonetheless gives filmmakers significant kudos within the industry, and an opportunity to have his/her work seen by informed viewers. (8) How important do you see the festival in the context of the Australian film industry? Again, it remains a major showcase for emerging filmmakers, and the industry continues to see it as a reliable sourcing ground for new talent. It has an international reputation, too, due in part to its longevity but also the quality of its programm
