Short films by emerging filmmakers from Australia participating in the MIFF Accelerator Lab 2021. See the work of tomorrow’s hottest directors today.

Short films by emerging filmmakers from Australia participating in the MIFF Accelerator Lab 2021. See the work of tomorrow’s hottest directors today.

An unplanned pregnancy unites two very different Costa Rican women in unique ways.

A young Vietnamese-French woman is faced with the communist takeover of Saigon on 30 April 1975.

A chance meeting paves the way for a deeper connection.

The film that made Tom Hanks a genuine star is now roughly the same age as its grown-up lead was, yet it remains equally as innocent and charming.

Winner of two Locarno Leopards of Tomorrow awards, this stunning portrait of adolescent abandon unfolds at the threshold of emerging maturity.

A sweet, touchingly funny tale about a working-class teen whose newfound passion for singing helps her connect with her deaf family in new ways.

Two Fijian-Indian sisters escape their cousin’s wedding to get high on disobedience and drugs.

In a nondescript place, seemingly forgotten by time, a teenager tries to outrun his loneliness.

In this coming-of-age tale, which won Venice’s Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film, a Colombian 15-year-old born into privilege experiences a rude awakening.

The directorial debut from producer Tanith Glynn-Maloney reimagines the 1954 auditions for Charles Chauvel’s iconic final film.

This Gen Z Before Sunrise finds tender romance in youthful self-discovery.

In a world with extremes of gravity, Rosa must navigate what it means to feel emotional ups and downs.

Attempting to quell some tension, a mother and daughter head to the hot springs… but more heat isn’t what they need.

Cannes’ 2020 Short Film Palme d’Or winner depicts the lengths a young man goes to in a bid to see his girlfriend one last time.

Moment and memory blend as you bear witness to a Samoan rite of passage.

Melbourne has never looked sleeker than in this low-key mumblecore piece.

Two estranged friends stumble upon each other and reconnect over a shared loss.

Selected for Critics’ Week at Cannes, Spanish filmmaker Clara Roquet’s coming-of-age debut captures female desire and friendship on the lush coast of Catalonia.

In the 2021 Sundance Short Film Grand Jury Prize winner, a young girl stumbles upon secrets at her local church in Lagos.

Poised at the intersection of activism and art, wunderkind Fox Maxy’s TikTok-esque tapestry documents the injustice and legacy of colonisation.

Emma Dante adapts her own acclaimed play: a melancholy tale of five Sicilian sisters whose lives are forever changed by a trauma from their youth.

An unsettling, melancholic portrait of what fame did to the talented young star of Death in Venice.

This sprawling, tender documentary captures the inspiring relationship between an unorthodox German schoolteacher and his culturally diverse teenage class.

In this multi-award-winning drama, a child pickpocket dreams of a better life.

Indigenous teenagers navigate exams, social dramas and maintaining meaningful connections to home while at boarding school.

This winner of multiple Czech Lion awards as well as Venice’s UNICEF Award is a stunning, utterly harrowing indictment of humanity at its worst.

Naina Sen explores the relationship between biracial identity and generational belonging through traditional Balinese dance.

You always have to watch out for those early warning signs.

A teenager is faced with the choice between rising up to become the better man or debasing himself for acceptance.

An intimidating encounter with a group of teens forces a 12-year-old to ponder her place in the world.

Laura Dern is unforgettable in this 1986 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner – now digitally restored – as a teen who pursues experiences she’s not really sure she wants.

Tradition and technology meet head-on in this tense coming-of-age drama about two Egyptian teens and a web of deceptions.

Co-executive-produced by Ian Thorpe, this sports drama centres on a teenager fighting to stay afloat in the world of competitive swimming – and in his family life.

When a new arrival is alienated by her peers at a girls’ orphanage, she exacts revenge by inventing an activity that takes gameplay to the extreme.

Zoe Terakes and Brenna Harding star as best friends mutually overcoming a tragedy.

A gang of streets kids is hired to pull off a dangerous heist in this Oscar-shortlisted coming-of-age drama from Iranian master director Majid Majidi.

After her father unexpectedly hits her, a young girl decides to toughen up.

A family unravels while road-tripping near Death Valley in the California desert.

A Noongar high school student struggles to perform a Shakespearean sonnet for her drama class.

On the cusp of turning 10, a Jamaican girl is about to learn how not to drown.

Winner of Best Short Film at the Swiss Film Awards, this documentary observes the impact of time – and historical trauma – on one commemorative street.