THE 25th Edition – Part 2 – of the Canberra Short Film Festival got off to a cracking start last night (March 17) at Dendy Cinemas, with a mix of international, national and Canberra-made films.

If you’re wondering what “Part 2” means, festival director John Frohlich explained it as their response to last year’s covid-enforced postponement of the silver anniversary event, for which there had been a whopping 700 entries.

Part 1 was held in November, Part 2 runs around town until March 28, then, with no sign of interest abating, the 2021 festival will be held in its entirety during November.

Last night we were treated to a cavalcade of 15 films from Nepal, Iran, China, Germany and Australia, ranging from a two-minute film by Ashlee Kate Robertson, in which the two ends of a smartphone earpiece get romantically entangled, to Eugene E~NRG’s hard-hitting look at indigenous youth empowerment.

Frohlich praised the panel of jurors who had examined all films across the 10 categories –International, National, Canberra, 2-Minute Film, Experimental, Schools/Under 18s, Music Videos, Documentaries, Animation and First Nations stories.

Eventually they chose 216 films, among which, he explained, several distinct themes emerged, inspiring the committee to have special interest nights such as “The Politics of Sexuality and Gender”, “Culture and Identity”, “Environment – Our Planet Our Home”, and “2020 in Film – Covid, BLM and Bushfires”.

Running over 12 nights across four local venues, the festival showcases short films from all over the world, with a special spotlight on Canberra’s filmmaking.

Of the international entries, Frohlich said, “It’s wonderful seeing films from places like Greenland, Columbia, Korea, Mexico and Africa, as well as the more common European and North American submissions”.

The planned youth open-air screening at Dickson Aquatic Centre tonight (March 18) will move to Majura Community Hall, but indoor events like the Iranian film session, the music video night, the movie marathon and documentary night will go ahead as planned, all at Dendy.

Next week there’ll be specialist sessions at Smith’s Alternative and Tuggeranong Arts Centre, before the awards night at Dendy on Saturday, March 27, and a festival finale at Smith’s on Sunday, March 28.

Canberra Short Film Festival until March 28, all program and booking details here.