Short Film

Short Film entries for the 2026 AACTA Awards are open. 

AACTA Award for Best Short Film
AACTA Award for Best Original Song†
AACTA Award for Best Soundtrack†

†Note: Candidates combined from Feature Film, Documentary, Television, Online Drama or Comedy, and Short Film. 

Entries Open: Thursday 12th June, 2025
Entries Close: Monday 7th July 2025, 11:59pm AEST
Round 1 Viewing and Voting Period: 18th July 2025 - 11th August 2025
Nominations Announcement: TBA
Round 2 Viewing and Voting Period: TBA

$160 (Full)
$70 (Student)*

*You'll be required to enter an active student email address to access this pricing. 
 

All Short Films submitted to the AACTA Awards must have been completed between 28th July 2024 and 25th July 2025. Whether a Production is complete is determined by the entrant.

To ensure the most comprehensive and inclusive field, AACTA reserves the right to extend the eligibility period. AACTA members will be notified of any changes. 

For full eligibility requirements, please see the 2026 AACTA Awards Rule Book.

A minimum of two Award Candidates listed on the Entry Form must be current AACTA members. If you are only listing 1 person on the entry form, that person will need to be an AACTA member.

Valid forms of AACTA membership for this category are Professional, General and Youth. For more information on AACTA membership, visit our website here.

If you are unsure of whether you currently satisfy the membership requirement, or may fail to do so, please contact the AACTA Awards Department.