Finding Family: Annelise Hickey’s Stranger, Brother explores the bonds between estranged siblings

Stranger, Brother, the new short film from Naarm-based filmmaker Annelise Hickey, is an intimate story about family, distance and the quiet need for connection. The film follows Adam, a millennial drifting through a carefree life, whose world is disrupted when his 10-year-old half-brother Mose unexpectedly appears at his door.  The two are strangers in every…

Mothers, Lovers and Others set for Perth Queer Film Festival

Renegade independent cinema, like Davo Hardy’s erotic dramedy Mothers, Lovers and Others, is generally not regarded as ‘safe’ for winning the favour of film festivals. This unconventional, dialogue-heavy melodrama opens at an orgy, contains explicit sex scenes and juggles multiple plotlines for a solid 135-minute runtime. Around the quirky ensemble cast of unknown actors, there…

Badlands launches artist-led distribution arm

Interview: James Robert Woods Sydney-based production house Badlands is venturing into the distribution space with the rollout of its critically acclaimed feature The Birthday Trip.  Previously known as Moonrise Over Knights Hill, the unflinchingly funny drama following three millennial couples whose relationships are thrown into disarray when they descend on a Southern Highlands farmstay for…

New trailer! The Rules of the Game

A new trailer has dropped for The Rules of the Game, a new horror thriller from directors JD Cohen and Lani Castle. Here’s the synopsis: On the dark web where users bet on who will win, a talented chess player is kidnapped and thrown into a game where she is one of the pieces, and…

Stellar Short Film Festival announces its 2026 Stellar 12

Stellar Short Film Festival has unveiled its Stellar 12 finalists for 2026, cementing its reputation as Australia’s only invitation-only short film festival and one of the country’s most distinctive celebrations of short-form cinema. Following a sold-out event of 1,200 attendees in 2025, strong early ticket sales indicate Stellar is on track for another sell-out year.…