Bird Drone, by Perth filmmaker Radheya Jegatheva, won the main prize at the inaugural Best Australian Short Film Competition awards in 2024. The awards offered a reported total prize pool of $75,000. Here are all the winners and prize amounts from that ceremony; these are the 2024 results, not a claim about the competition’s latest edition.
All the 2024 winners and prizes
PerthNow reported the awards and prize amounts below. The category awards add up to the reported $75,000 total prize pool. “Main Prize” was the competition’s overall award; the other categories recognised animation, young filmmakers, innovation, First Nations filmmaking, Western Australian films and audience choice.
| Category | Prize | Winning film | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Australian Short Film Competition Main Prize | $30,000 | Bird Drone | Radheya Jegatheva |
| Best Animation | $5,000 total; $2,500 each | Australian Mongrel and Self-Portrait (tie) | Rocco Fazzari and Belinda Lopez; Mahdi Poursamad |
| Next Gen Youth Prize | $5,000 | The Ways We Cook | Juno Shean |
| Future of Film Innovation Prize | $5,000 | Substratum | Harvey Abrahams |
| WA First Nations Filmmaker Prize | $7,500 | The Tale of Mr. Kimberley | Marlanie Haerewa |
| Best West Australian Short Film Prize | $10,000 | Verge Collection | Taylor Finch, Nicholas Verryn, Nadine Barry and Kyle Thistlethwaite |
| People’s Choice Prize | $5,000 | Verge Collection | Taylor Finch, Nicholas Verryn, Nadine Barry and Kyle Thistlethwaite |
Source for the winners, categories and amounts: PerthNow’s 2024 winners report.
What the main prize recognised
Bird Drone is an animated short about a seagull’s unrequited love for a drone. PerthNow described Jegatheva as a Perth filmmaker and reported that he spent nearly three years directing and animating the film on his laptop. In the same report, he called it “a labour of love.” The film received the $30,000 main prize.
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How the category results differed
Two animation winners shared the prize
The Best Animation category was a tie between Australian Mongrel and Self-Portrait. Each received $2,500, splitting the category’s $5,000 prize.
One film won both Western Australian and audience awards
Verge Collection, made by a Fremantle team, won Best West Australian Short Film and People’s Choice. PerthNow reported that its readers’ votes determined the People’s Choice result. The two awards totalled $15,000 for the film’s named recipients.
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Other prizes recognised emerging work and innovation
Juno Shean won the Next Gen Youth Prize for The Ways We Cook; Harvey Abrahams won the Future of Film Innovation Prize for Substratum; and Marlanie Haerewa won the WA First Nations Filmmaker Prize for The Tale of Mr. Kimberley.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When and where the awards were presented
The inaugural awards ceremony took place at Rooftop Movies in Northbridge on Thursday, 29 February 2024, and was streamed nationally. PerthNow ran the competition in collaboration with major sponsor SAE University College. PerthNow described the event’s prize pool as the nation’s richest for a short film competition; the reported $75,000 figure is not an independently verified comparison with every Australian competition.
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PerthNow’s competition hub includes winner-related watch links and a ceremony recap. Current availability of individual films may vary.
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