Wild by Nature Short Film Festival
A film festival that celebrates everything we love about Victoria’s incredible outdoors. From your local park or creek, to your favourite wild place to escape the busy city, nature plays an important role in all of our lives.
Wild By Nature Short Film Festival was held online on Saturday the 7th of November.
Winners & Finalists
Pobblebonk Division – 12 years and under
Winner
Killara’s Biodiversity Wonderland
Killara Primary School Students
A primary school embraces their local environment and creates a wildlife haven by reducing their impact and improving habitat in and around the school grounds.
Finalist
Nature Never Sleeps
Phineas Wilton
A Melbourne filmmaker transports the viewer on a virtual exploration of his local patch of nature.
Finalist
Wildlife Recovery
Matisse Turner
Follow a Mallacoota resident’s journey to help her local wildlife recover from devastating bushfires.
Finalist
Heaven’s Pools
Remy Turner
A fishing adventure filmed above and below the water in one of Victoria’s bush-fire affected areas.
Finalist
How I care for nature
Ruby Howse
A young conservationist documents her work to help her local wildlife.
Swamp Skink Division – 13 to 18 years
Winner
LISTEN
Marlowe Wilton
Two teenagers escape the bustle and stress of city life with the aid of nature’s soundscape.
Finalist
Contaminated You
Renee Hang
A creative piece exploring consciousness, connection and purpose with a backdrop of urban habitat.
Finalist
Little Girl Lost
Abigail Gitsham
Be transported to the forest in this coming of age experimental film.
Finalist
Snorkelling with Spider Crabs
Heath Corry
An underwater adventure witnessing the mass congregation and moulting of spider crabs in Port Phillip.
Finalist
Be the Difference
Ruby Biggs
An impassioned plea from a concerned student, including tips on reducing your impact.
Black Swan Division – 18 years and over
Winner
Dog Fruit
Andrew Robb & Jessica Gerger
A comic look at the serious issue of dog waste in the environment.
Finalist
Blessings
Richard Lawless
A scenic tour of Victoria’s beauty from a bird’s eye view.
Finalist
Living Empty
Jahvis Loveday
A story of loss and loneliness from an explorer trapped in the suburbs.
Finalist
Living with Gliders and Tuans
Alastair Trail
An up-close and personal documentary of some of Australia’s lesser-known marsupials.
Finalist
Us, Naturally
Fatima Measham
A family enjoys connecting with nature at their local waterway.
Meet the judging team
Tahney Fosdike
My name is Tahney. I grew up along the Murray River in Pomberuk, the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri people, and moved to Naarm (Melbourne) several years ago for my Masters and then a career in the arts. By day I work for Arts Project Australia, a gallery and studio advocating for artists with intellectual disabilities in the contemporary art sector, and by night I program for the Environmental Film Festival Australia. In between, I write cultural criticism for a variety of Australian-based arts publications. I believe art – film included- is a vital tool for wide-spread and effective advocacy-led change.
Adrian Holmes
Adrian is a graduate of The University of Melbourne’s VCA School of Film and Television, where his graduate film was awarded the school’s top honour and went on to screen at numerous local and international film festivals. Soon after he began directing television drama at the ABC and, over the next decade, directed more than a hundred episodes of television drama across all networks.
He has spent time touring remote Aboriginal communities in the Kimberly and Pilbara regions of WA running film-making workshops for the Film & Television Institute’s Making Movies Roadshow and has successfully funded and delivered similar filmmaking workshops in rural Victoria for indigenous filmmakers. He has also directed music videos for Aria award-winning artists, an SBS Independent documentary, numerous television commercials and has continued to make award-winning short films.
Adrian is currently a lecturer and supervising producer at the VCA, where he is the undergraduate coordinator of the BFA Film and Television stream.
Sarah Maclagan
Sarah works at the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority (PPWCMA) coordinating a collaborative urban nature program called Living Links. In 2016, Living Links received $1M funding from the Victorian Government to improve environmental values and community engagement along the Dandenong Creek corridor in Melbourne’s south-east. Sarah came up with the idea of running a short film festival as part of this project, to encourage people to creatively express why they love connecting with nature. She is passionate about promoting the health and wellbeing benefits of spending time in nature, and believes that art can be a powerful way to achieve this.
Ellie Michaelides
Ellie is a science and environmental communicator, with a passion for connecting people with nature. She has worked across university, cultural, and local and state government sectors, and was previously the Communications and Engagement Manager at Remember The Wild where she helped to set up the Wild by Nature film festival. She now runs events at State Library Victoria, and spends her spare time gardening and exploring her local patch of the Yarra River.
Age divisions & prizes
Pobblebonk Prize | primary age, 12 and under |
Swamp Skink Prize | secondary age, 13 to 18 years |
Black Swan Prize | over 18 |
The winner of the Pobblebonk Prize will receive a $1000 voucher for a wildlife experience with Zoos Victoria.
The winner of the Swamp Skink Prize will receive a $1000 voucher for video production gear, plus a hands-on workshop with the Remember The Wild productions team to finesse your nature filmmaking skills.
The winner of the Black Swan Prize will receive $3000 cash.
Themes
Films must address at least one of the following themes:
Caring for nature
Community conservation groups are doing fantastic work looking after our environment, but the work of individual people is also incredibly important – there’s plenty you can do in and around your home to help care for nature.
Films should focus on how groups or individuals can or are caring for nature
Ideas to consider:
How do you care for nature where you live?
Why is it important for us to preserve nature in the suburbs?
What is one of your favourite memories volunteering to conserve nature?
Together in nature
From camping and hiking, to snorkeling and birdwatching – adventures and activities in nature are a great way to spend time and connect with family, friends and your community.
Films should focus on the joys and benefits of spending time in nature with friends, family and community
Ideas to consider:
Why are parks and gardens important for our community?
How does nature bring people together? How does it inspire us?
What is one of your favourite memories of spending time with loved ones in nature?
Dandenong Creek corridor
The Dandenong Creek corridor provides a vital haven for native flora and fauna, and the region’s human inhabitants. The Living Links program is working hard to improve the quality and connectivity of habitat along the creek, and to improve community use and appreciation of it.
Films should highlight the natural values of the Dandenong Creek corridor for people, nature or both
Ideas to consider:
What do you love about this unique waterway?
Why are waterways so important to our way of life?
What is one of your favourite memories of the Dandenong Creek?
FAQs
I’m based overseas, can I submit a film to the festival?
Sadly not! Wild by Nature is all about celebrating nature in Victoria, Australia. To be eligible for the festival, films must made by entrants living in Victoria and films must focus on nature in Victoria.
How much does it cost to submit a film?
It’s totally free to submit a film to Wild by Nature.
I’ve got a ready-made film that would be great for this festival, can I submit it?
Absolutely! As long as it fits within the themes for Wild by Nature, and it was completed within two years of the original closing date for submissions (before we extended due to COVID-19) – so it would need to have been completed after 12 April 2018.
What type of file do I have to submit my film in?
Our film submission platform FilmFreeway accepts all major video formats in full quality HD up to 10 GB. If your film is selected for screening at Wild by Nature, the final delivery format must be in QuickTime Video Codecs: Apple Pro Res 422/4444.
Does my film have to fit within the themes?
Yes, your film must address at least one of the film festival themes of Caring for Nature, Together in Nature, and Dandenong Creek. Scroll up a little on this page to read more about the themes.
Do I have to be in the film?
Nope, you certainly don’t need to be in your own film, but you can be if you like!
How long is my film allowed to be?
Your film must be no longer than five minutes, including credits.
Can we submit a film as a group?
You absolutely can, but if you win you’ll have to share the prize.