Benalla Shorts History
The Benalla Shorts Film Festival followed on from a Film Workshop organised by two locals, Anna Smith and Bernice Vance, in 2013.
It was hoped the workshop would inspire young film makers to continue in the field and enter their own short film in the proposed Inaugural 2014 Festival at BPACC.
Anna and Bernice were committee members of the Friends of BPACC and they approached this organisation to assist them and to sponsor the Short Film Festival. The Inaugural Benalla Festival saw 10 entries included in the screening in 2014, with Australian Actor, Mr. Tom Burlinson officially opening the evening via a video presentation. He wished the festival well and apologised for not being there in person, but other commitments had precluded that. Support came from many in the Film/TV industry with Matt Preston from Master Chef wishing Anna and Bernice all the best with their venture and apologising for not being present as other commitments prevented that from happening.
Unforeseen circumstances prevented the 2015 Festival from being run, but it was only put on hold until 2016. This Festival saw 15 films accepted and screened, with the Friends of BPACC again the main sponsors. Local students entered films again and many business houses within the township added their support to the Benalla Film Festival and a very successful event was held.
The 2017 event saw some 420 films entered with 19 screened and we were honoured to have John Orcsik (Cop Shop and so many more) and Tom Long (Sea Change and the Dish) as judges. John attended the screenings and presented the prizes. Tom retired from our Judging panel (2019) after providing excellent assistance over the years. Tom was born in the United States as his Australian parents were there at the time, and on their return to Australia he grew up on a farm near Benalla. Tom needs no introduction as he has appeared in several Australian TV series and films, (Sea Change, Young Lions, Two Hands, The Dish, The Postcard Bandit, The Book of Revelation, Woodley and East of Everything. Sadly, Tom passed away on the 4th January 2020 after a long illness.
Our 2018 festival results – A sell out crowd saw the screening of short films at the 4th Benalla Shorts festival held on Sunday. The screening was held at Raffety’s Reception Centre and the cabaret style seating, with refreshments available, was a very successful element of the event. The screening was held to coincide with the Wall 2 Wall Arts weekend.
The Best Film went to ‘iRony’ written, scripted and directed by Perth based student Radheya Jegatheva. The award sponsors were the Friends of the Benalla Library and the Friends of BPACC and they kindly donated $1,000 for the Best Film Award.
Covid-19 restrictions saw our 2020 event screened online. This action ensured we honoured our long-time commitment to our film makers allowing them to have their work screened and appreciated.
In 2022 we decided to go International with our 1st Winner from Italy.
In 2023 Benalla Shorts screened at the new Benalla Cinema.
We have been honoured by the attendance of our esteemed judges past and present Frank Bruzzese, David Forster, Matt Scholten, Polly Staniford, Tom Long, John Orcsik, Krista Vendy and Tony Bonner AM. And we would like to welcome Bruce Hunt Hughes to the Benalla Shorts family as our NEW judge in 2024
We acknowledge the enormous contribution made by Kevin Perry and sadly we have had to say good-bye (due to MND diagnosis in 2024), R.I.P dear friend.
We look forward to this year again showcasing both local film-makers and from afar to entertain you with their incredible craft.
We urge you to support the Festival, come along and enjoy the extraordinary event that is the ‘Benalla Shorts’.
It was hoped the workshop would inspire young film makers to continue in the field and enter their own short film in the proposed Inaugural 2014 Festival at BPACC.
Anna and Bernice were committee members of the Friends of BPACC and they approached this organisation to assist them and to sponsor the Short Film Festival. The Inaugural Benalla Festival saw 10 entries included in the screening in 2014, with Australian Actor, Mr. Tom Burlinson officially opening the evening via a video presentation. He wished the festival well and apologised for not being there in person, but other commitments had precluded that. Support came from many in the Film/TV industry with Matt Preston from Master Chef wishing Anna and Bernice all the best with their venture and apologising for not being present as other commitments prevented that from happening.
Unforeseen circumstances prevented the 2015 Festival from being run, but it was only put on hold until 2016. This Festival saw 15 films accepted and screened, with the Friends of BPACC again the main sponsors. Local students entered films again and many business houses within the township added their support to the Benalla Film Festival and a very successful event was held.
The 2017 event saw some 420 films entered with 19 screened and we were honoured to have John Orcsik (Cop Shop and so many more) and Tom Long (Sea Change and the Dish) as judges. John attended the screenings and presented the prizes. Tom retired from our Judging panel (2019) after providing excellent assistance over the years. Tom was born in the United States as his Australian parents were there at the time, and on their return to Australia he grew up on a farm near Benalla. Tom needs no introduction as he has appeared in several Australian TV series and films, (Sea Change, Young Lions, Two Hands, The Dish, The Postcard Bandit, The Book of Revelation, Woodley and East of Everything. Sadly, Tom passed away on the 4th January 2020 after a long illness.
Our 2018 festival results – A sell out crowd saw the screening of short films at the 4th Benalla Shorts festival held on Sunday. The screening was held at Raffety’s Reception Centre and the cabaret style seating, with refreshments available, was a very successful element of the event. The screening was held to coincide with the Wall 2 Wall Arts weekend.
The Best Film went to ‘iRony’ written, scripted and directed by Perth based student Radheya Jegatheva. The award sponsors were the Friends of the Benalla Library and the Friends of BPACC and they kindly donated $1,000 for the Best Film Award.
Covid-19 restrictions saw our 2020 event screened online. This action ensured we honoured our long-time commitment to our film makers allowing them to have their work screened and appreciated.
In 2022 we decided to go International with our 1st Winner from Italy.
In 2023 Benalla Shorts screened at the new Benalla Cinema.
We have been honoured by the attendance of our esteemed judges past and present Frank Bruzzese, David Forster, Matt Scholten, Polly Staniford, Tom Long, John Orcsik, Krista Vendy and Tony Bonner AM. And we would like to welcome Bruce Hunt Hughes to the Benalla Shorts family as our NEW judge in 2024
We acknowledge the enormous contribution made by Kevin Perry and sadly we have had to say good-bye (due to MND diagnosis in 2024), R.I.P dear friend.
We look forward to this year again showcasing both local film-makers and from afar to entertain you with their incredible craft.
We urge you to support the Festival, come along and enjoy the extraordinary event that is the ‘Benalla Shorts’.
To be continued..,
