VicScreen, Melbourne International Film Festival and the AFL today announced the five dynamic short-film projects that have been selected for Footy Shorts.

Five emerging Victorian filmmaking teams will each make a short documentary about Australian Rules Football to premiere at MIFF 2025 in August.

An initiative of MIFF, the AFL and VicScreen, Footy Shorts offers next generation screen storytellers the opportunity to make a film that captures the deep love, traditions and connections shared through Australian Rules Football. These stories will showcase how the game, across its many different forms, unites and shapes Australian life whether as players, fans, families, or communities.

ADVERTISEMENT

Five projects have been financed to start production this month, with the nominated film teams receiving professional development from industry mentors, a $20,000 production budget and access to the AFL’s prized footage archive and support in accessing its Clubs.

The five Footy Shorts films will have a gala world premiere screening at MIFF and will also be available Australia-wide through MIFF Online – streaming via ACMI Cinema 3.

The films will also be available digitally across all AFL platforms, including AFL.com.au and the AFL app.

The five successful teams and their projects are:

Grace Cardona and Paige Cardona. Photograph by Daniel Mahon.

Breaking The Line: The Peta Searle Story
Director/Editor Grace Cardona and Producer/Writer Paige Cardona
Breaking the Line tells the powerful story of Peta Searle whose resilience and leadership transformed women’s footy and made her the first woman to coach in the AFL.

Kynan Clarke and Isabel Dilena. Photograph by Daniel Mahon.

Bush Boots
Producer/Director/Writers Kynan Clarke and Isabel Dilena
In Mooroopna, boots hit the dirt long before they hit the big stage. Bush Boots honours the Indigenous footy kids and the community role models guiding them- on and off the field.

Adam Bigum and Ramas McRae. Photograph by Daniel Mahon.

Eye of the Game: The Deaf Ruckman
Director/Writer Ramas McRae and Producer Adam Bigum
A profoundly Deaf Australian Rules footballer defies expectations by using his unique visual skills to excel in a traditionally auditory sport, proving that passion and skill transcend spoken barriers.

Lachlan Baynes. Photograph by Daniel Mahon.

House Divided
Director/Writer Danielle Baynes and Producer Lachlan Baynes
In Australian families, footy team allegiances run deep — inherited, fiercely defended, borderline sacred. But what happens when someone switches teams? House Divided is a warm and witty personal tale of loyalty and rebellion.

Fraser Pemberton, Alexandra Walton and Theo McMahon. Photograph by Daniel Mahon.

No Prior Opportunity
Director Alexandra Walton, Producer Theo McMahon and Co-Producer Fraser Pemberton
Rhys Gilday, a man on the autism spectrum, and his love of AFL umpires, shine a spotlight on the game’s most misunderstood figures. No Prior Opportunity is a heartwarming, funny, and powerful tribute to passion, exclusion, and resilience on the fringes of fandom.

To find out more visit https://miff.com.au/footy-shorts