OBSERVER: St Kilda Film Festival


Australia’s longest-running film festival, the St Kilda Film Festival, returns to the big screen from June 5-15.
Presented by the City of Port Phillip, this year’s festival will screen over 150 films across 34 curated sessions, taking place at iconic venues including South Melbourne Market, the Astor Theatre, and for the first time since 2019, the St Kilda Town Hall.
The Palais Theatre will roll out the red carpet for the Opening Night Gala for a star-studded evening on June 5.
In 2025, SKFF continues its commitment to platforming diverse voices and perspectives. The program features the festival’s largest First Nations line-up to date, including a dedicated strand curated by Fred Gesha, with a particular focus on stories of motherhood and birthing by First Nations female filmmakers.
This year also sees a strong embrace of analogue formats, with a resurgence in Super 8 and 16mm filmmaking evident by the 12 titles in the program shot on film, illustrating how the next generation of filmmakers are embracing the medium.
A reimagined St Kilda Town Hall will serve as the festival’s hub, transformed into a cabaret-style cinema with a bar, DJs, live music on Friday nights, and an open-access Filmmaker Lounge, bringing a new feel to the festival experience.
Short film highlights include: Unspoken, directed by Damian Walshe-Howling; See M: A Film About Redro Redriguez, directed by Nathan Woods; Fence, directed by Samantha Alexis Laughton; Re-Imagining Our Futures: Birthing, directed by Kimberley Benjamin;Born to Hustle, directed by Grace Anna Cardona; Rage,directed by Renee Kyprioti, Unstoppable,directed by Jack Byrnes and Marcus Porcaro and many more.
Richard Sowada, SKFF Director said, “What an absolutely ripping year for Australian short-form films.”
For more information on screenings and bookings, visit: stkildafilmfestival.com.au
Cheryl Threadgold