Lilah Benetti, Maxine Ellah and Mimo Mukii

Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund (AFFIF) and Pride Foundation Australia (PFA) today announced that recipient of the inaugural AFF/APF Short Film Initiative grant is The Night Moses Died, written by Lilah Benetti and Maxine Ellah and to be directed by Lilah Benetti and produced by Mimo Mukii.

Lilah Benetti (they/them) is a queer, Black, trans non-binary writer and director based in Naarm (Melbourne). They are a highly regarded visual artist, who has exhibited in Australia and internationally including in the US, UK and Senegal.

Maxine Ellah (she/her) is a lesbian Australian writer and actor of Nigerian descent. Raised in a French speaking household in London, her multicultural upbringing informs a grounded, emotionally intelligent approach to performance and writing. Her screen credits include ABC’s Role of a Lifetime and SBS’s Erotic Stories, and she recently developed a theatre work through Antipodes Winter Lab.

Mimo Mukii (they/them) has produced many narrative short films, including Blackwood (Atlanta Filmmaker to Watch Award 2019, Flickerfest Best Cinematography in an Australian Film 2020), Tuī Ná (Best Film at Mardis Gras Film Festival 2023, Nominated for Best Film at the 2023 Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival) and What’s in a Name? (AFTRS Craft Award for Best Screenwriting at the Sydney Film Festival 2023, Flickerfest award for Best Direction 2023, Best Film at ReelGood Film Festival 2024).

The creative team will receive a $40,000 grant to produce the film, which will have its World Premiere at AFF 2026.

The Night Moses Died is a queer coming-of-age story that unfolds over one night, where a restless 19-year-old finds kinship with an ageing showgirl, and beneath the flicker of rhinestones and cigarette smoke, Moses disappears.

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Mat Kesting, CEO and Creative Director of the Adelaide Film Festival, said: “Adelaide Film Festival is committed to elevating new voices in cinema and the high demand for this inaugural co-commission between the AFF Investment Fund and Pride Foundation Australia confirms there’s many exciting and fresh stories to be told. Congratulations to Mino, Lilah and Maxine for The Night Moses Died, we can’t wait to premiere it as part of AFF 2026!”

Catherine Fitzgerald, Chair of Pride Foundation Australia’s Arts & Culture Committee said: “Pride Foundation Australia are so excited to support Mino Mukii, Lilah Benetti & Maxine Ellah in the making of The Night Moses Died, a nuanced and emotional Black Queer coming-of-age story framed in the domestic space, yet teetering on the threshold of the surreal.  This story celebrates survival, true self and joy.  Importantly it will allow young Black Gender Queers to see themselves represented on screen.”

Through the Short Film Initiative, AFF and Pride Foundation Australia further their commitment to increasing equity for LGBTQIA+ Australians to tell their stories.  Priority was given to applicants who are LGBTQIA+ and First Nations, newly arrived migrants, forcibly displaced people including refugees, and people from CALD backgrounds and/or regional and rural communities to develop their screen storytelling craft and build their professional careers.

The announcement comes on the back of AFF 2025 achieving a new box office record and audience growth of 35% since 2020, in a program that boasted 25 world premieres and 38 Australian premiere’s and over 200 screenings and events this last October.

The Hon. Andrea Michaels MP, Minister for Arts said “The Adelaide Film Festival is one of Australia’s most celebrated cultural events, attracting thousands of attendees and showcasing world-class cinema.

“That’s why the Malinauskas Government committed additional funding to make the festival an annual event and support the creation of new films through the AFF Investment Fund. This investment will ensure the festival continues to grow and cement South Australia’s reputation as a leader in screen culture.”

The 2026 Adelaide Film Festival will be held from Wednesday October 14 to Sunday October 25. Submissions for the AFF 2026 are now open. Go to adelaidefilmfestival.org to enter films and for more information.

The film will screen at Horror-on-Sea on the 23rd of January, 2026, with future screenings at other major festivals to be announced in the coming weeks.

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