and the winners are...
CANBERRA
Best Film: Fleeting Moments - Benjamin Nunney
Best Director: Ujjwal Rai - After Hours/My First Date/I Am Free
Best Cinematography: Nathan L Collett - Lucky Fowl
Best Editing: Declan Shrubb - Out of the Loop
Best Production Design: Baxter Sheridan - Places, Please!
Best Script/Screenplay: Rob La Terra - The Punt
Best Sound Design: Frank Lipson - The Horn
Best Visual Effects: Adventurers Wanted - Tom Pugh
Best Score: Lee Francis Evatt & Laura Harris - B-Roll
Best Actor: Ryan Hedges - Martyr
Best Actress: Savahna O'Donnell - Ayudar
Best Comedy: Creek Geeks - Andrew Robb & Jessica Gerger
Emerging Talent: Lilly Endres - 1988
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Highly Commended: How Would You Do It? - Quentin Nguyen
Highly Commended: And ...Breathe - Tamzin Nugent Nugent, Liz Lea & Sue Healey
Highly Commended: Two Graves - Carl Emmerson, Dan Sanguineti & Mikey Watson
Highly Commended: Broken Fingers - Spencer Wilds & Mert Boyali
Highly Commended: Empty House - Taylor Thomson & Nicholas Gaisbauer
NATIONAL
Best Film: Memorabilia - Ceridwen Dovey & Rowena Potts
Best Director: Jack Shepherd - Yakka
Best Cinematography: Bernard Winter - Laugh with Me
Best Editing: Sarah Panzetta - Armstrong
Best Production Design: Pernell Marsden - Small
Best Script/Screenplay: Nick Richardson - Still Life
Best Score: Alex Olijnyk - Small
Best Art Design: Pernell Marsden - The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie and Celeste
Best Actor: Travis Jeffrey - Dusty
Best Actress: Libby Segal and Frankie Gillespie McKay - The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie and Celeste
Best Comedy: Room For One More - Jesse Vogelar
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Highly Commended: The Muse - Jessica Sherlock
Highly Commended: Still - Cornelius Marco & Adrian Dias
Highly Commended: Get Home Safe - January Jones & Karla Hillam
Highly Commended: A Rose for Katrina - Harry Quinlan
INTERNATIONAL
Best Film: Loser - Colleen McGuinness
Best Director: Virgile Texier - 2024, Année Quelconque
Best Cinematography: Émile Sornasse - My Week with George Clooney
Best Editing: Oleg Korneev & Demitri Zujew - Crease
Best Production Design: Benoit Febrinon - Memory Lane
Best Script/Screenplay: Payam Kordestani - Nietzschean Suicide
Best Sound Design: Jack Cochran - Cancer Alley
Best Art Direction: Dunes
Best Actor: Luc Brumagne - Memory Lane
Best Actress: Andrea Ariel - Forever Yours
Best Comedy: Flutter - Shane W. Brennan & Aaron Chalke
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Highly Commended: Sweatshop Girl - Selma Cervantes
Highly Commended: Tango Siesta - Dinko Bozanic
Highly Commended: CLOUD STUDY - Esa-Lu Lorenz
Highly Commended: The last whinny of a horse that had dreamt of becoming a butterfly - Mahdie Mohammadi
SMITH'S SHORT SHORTS TOP 5 FILMS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
Grafitti Sonata - Georgia Curry
Meet Me At Smith's - Megan Munro
RISING STARS - Luke McWilliams & Tim Stiles
The Audition - Spencer Wilds & Patrick Sullivan
The Moon & Stars in Smith's Alternative - Thomas, Richard & Juliet Garrett
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SCHOOLS/UNDER 18s
Best Film: Nix's Symphony - Karina Loerchner
Best Canberra: Martyr - Oscar Rosauer
Highly Commended: manca - Mil Burford
Highly Commended: L'ecole de Cirque - Matilda Judith Deeble
Highly Commended: Blood and Bone - Charlie Butters & Chloe Thomas-Way
Highly Commended: Mockingbird - Oskar Martin
Highly Commended: Anna McGee's Wild Ride - Ava Bounds
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FIRST NATIONS STORIES
Best Film: The Gap - Ada Tuna
First Runner Up: Just Beneath The Surface - Jimmy John Thaiday
Second Runner Up: Voices of Old Mapoon - Karin Calley
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Highly Commended: To Be Silent - Tace Stevens & Skye Leon
Highly Commended: Marlu Man - Zac James & Brooke Collard
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DOCUMENTARY
Best Film: What's in a name? - Ruth Liliana Levin
Best Canberra: Dad - Riley Eli Jones
Highly Commended: As The Leash Comes Loose - Jackson Hayat & Tom Buckingham
Highly Commended: Kentaro - Tilmann Stewart & Gaku Matsuda
Highly Commended: Pirsas - Angélica María Torres Tamayo
Highly Commended: Max Mcvicker - James Hiscutt
Highly Commended: Everything Changed - Fletcher Lloyd Crowley
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MUSIC VIDEO
Best Film: Sheppard "Daylight" - Josh Harris
Highly Commended: Girls Like U - Robby Peters
Highly Commended: Pretty Stare - chicarica - Luz Andrea Sierra
Highly Commended: Peach PRC "Like a Girl Does" - Josh Harris
Highly Commended: AJR "Maybe Man" - Edoardo Ranaboldo
Highly Commended: Wait in the Car - Damien Hyde
Highly Commended: I'm Leaving - Michelle Brand
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2-MINUTE FILM
Best Film: The Punt - Rob La Terra
Highly Commended: Red Light Green Light - Corey Grispo
Highly Commended: The Lure - Tony Hipwell
Highly Commended: A Starry Night In Apollo Bay - Amanda Vanderkleij & Ryan Telfer
ANIMATION
Best Film: Le Charade - Erika Totoro
Best Canberra Animation: Hidden Purpose - Scott Cadzow
Best U20's Animation: Nix's Symphony - Karina Loerchner
Best Direction: Octopus Banana Hotchpotch - Milanka Fabjancic
Best Animation Craft: Sweet Like Lemons - Jenny Jokela
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Highly Commended: Tennis, Oranges - Sean Pecknold
Highly Commended: Nyanga - Medhin Tewolde Serrano
Highly Commended: CHAIN - Ling Han
Highly Commended: Hooba - Sem Assink
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EXPERIMENTAL
Best Film: Torii - Martin Gerigk
Highly Commended: Feeling - Holly George
Highly Commended: Subversion - Jack Riley
Highly Commended: Types of Rain - Ian Gibbins
SPIRITUS FILM PRIZE
Open Category Winner: The last time I saw you - Damian McLindon
Highly Commended: Screentime - Alexandrena Parker
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Regional Winner: To be silent - Tace Stevens
Highly Commended: We are flying stars - Todd Antony
Highly Commended: Tomorrow's trees - Adam Lichoudaris
Highly Commended: Inner Depths - Mark Russel Bernard