SF3 Mini & Feature Film Screening

The SmartFone Flick Fest (SF3) is back for its 11th season! One of the world’s biggest smartphone film festivals, SF3 makes filmmaking accessible to everyone. Join us for an unforgettable celebration of creativity, storytelling and innovation — with over $50,000 in prizes up for grabs!

Don’t miss the SF3 Mini & Feature Film Screening, showcasing the world’s best mini films (3 minutes or less), our Best Adaptation Award winner plus two of our Feature Film Finalists — Fire Alive by James Demitri plus Unholy Union from the Hills Drama School.

Powerful, bite-sized stories and groundbreaking long-form films shot entirely on smartphones. Experience the future of cinema up on the big screen at the Chauvel.

NB. This session will be divided into two halves with an interval but your one ticket grants you access to both halves. The first half we will screen Unholy Union, our Mini Finalists plus our Adaptation film and a special screening of Michèle Jedlicka's latest documentary. Then there will be a short interval followed by the world premier of Fire Alive. Exact timing:

1:30pm - 1st half films start: Not Born Yesterday, The Park, our Mini Finalists and Unholy Union. This will start right on 1:30pm

3:48pm - Awards Ceremony & Prize Presentation

3:55pm - 5 minute interval SHARP

4:00pm - The world premiere of our SF3 Feature Film Finalist, Fire Alive by James Demitri - this will start right on 4PM

5:30pm - SF3 ends.

Featuring Ambassadors including Phillip Noyce, Kriv Stenders, Luis Fernandez, Garry Maddox, Kerry Armstrong, Nicole da Silva and more. Proudly supported by Blackmagic Design, Rode, Luma Touch, Melodie, Try & Byte, Chicken & Chips Casting, Waterloo Studios/Sydney Film School & Sydney Actors School and many more incredible prize partners.

SF3 is also supported by the City of Sydney and Screen NSW.

The Films Screening are:

SF3 Feature Film Finalist

Fire Alive by James Demitri - Lewisham, NSW

iPhone 16 Pro Max

Samsung Galaxy Ultra 23

On a lonely street stands Witch House. It waits...hungry, for new blood. When four students persuade the old woman who owns ti to let them film a low-budget documentary, they quickly discover they've gotten far more than they bargained for. The basement holds a secret, and when they play a game called Fire Alive, everything begins to unravel. As events spiral and reality twists, they are forced to confront forces that wil test their beliefs, their world, and their friendships.

SF3 Kids Feature Film Finalist

Unholy Union by Aaron Scully and the Hills Drama School Advanced Teen Class - Rouse Hill, NSW

Set in 1825 NSW Australia, the wealthy owner of a farm, Charles Williams, has mysteriously gone missing. As the farm members fall into chaos, his eldest daughter must make a decision. Marry a wealthy man to save the farm, or seek out a spirit medium to help find his killer.

SF3 Mini Finalists:

A Dialtone Reverie by Joshua Belinfante - Sydney, NSW

iPhone 15 Pro

Once upon a time, in a world of infinite notifications, one man chose… the dial tone. A Dialtone Reverie is a groundbreaking exploration of that low hum we all ignore, now finally getting the screen time it deserves. Shot with reckless sincerity and at least one functioning phone, it’s the greatest love story never answered.

A Social Practice by Christina Mishell - Blacktown, NSW

iPhone 16

Sally works in a props store and has a crush on her colleague Josh. She's awkward though. So when he asks her to come to his party, she needs a little help from her prop friends in order to practice the art of socialising.

A Touch of Romance by Victoria Wharfe McIntyre - Kangaroo Valley, NSW

iPhone 15 Pro Max

Florence is so lost in stories of love she doesn't see Barney and his warm heart right in front of her! Barney just needs to take a breath and leave it up to his dog Bob to orchestrate a touch of romance.

Adam V Ammo by Kevin Jones - Oregon, USA

iPhone 13 Pro Max

Adam V Ammo—starring Adam the Bearded Dragon and army men.
Adam (she, her) uses her power to disarm the army men confronting her.

Aligned by Darya Miroshnikova & Swati Taldarr - Sydney, NSW & Melbourne, VIC

iPhone 14 Pro

Anaya, a fiercely independent Indian PhD student living in Australia, finds herself torn between her conservative family's pressure to marry through a traditional matrimonial site and her own search for modern love—only to fall deeply for an AI chatbot designed to reflect her every desire, forcing her to confront what it really means to be seen, loved, and “settled” in a digital world.

Auditum by Natasha Reynolds - Erskineville, NSW

iPhone 16

Auditum explores the unnoticed noise of the city life versus the silence of deafness, framed through the theme o breath. The city moves in a restless rhythm, loud, consuming and unheeded, until silence strips it away.

Precious moments of laughter and connection unfolded with no audio, urging viewers to pause, breathe and to reconsider perspective. Through shifting landscapes and visuals captured on a smartphone, the film immerses us in the fragility of hearing and the rhythm of simply being.

Birrarung by Elfie & Max Schleser - Kew, VIC

iPhone

Birrarung is a portrait of Melbourne's Yarra River. Birrarung is the traditional name of the river in the Wurundjeri country by the Kulin people. The screen production was commission by the 24-hour film marathon Shoot4Earth. In response to the theme "drop", Elfie (10 years) developed the idea of the Yarra and explored its connection to county through an Indigenous perspective. Max (45 years) and Elfie filmed with Black Magic Camera app and then Max edited the project on LumaFusion in one day. Elfie provided the voice over to her script, which she researched on her iPad.

Elfie and Max live on the lands of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation and hope to inspire others to connect to county and learn more about about the original storytellers of this place.

BRUSHSTROKES by Michelle Zeng - Campsie, NSW

Samsung Galaxy S25

In the quiet of her studio, an artist paints a radiant self-portrait, which contrasts sharply with her own restrained expression. Ambiguous and open to interpretation, the film invites audiences to question what is hidden behind appearances, how identity splinters between self and perception, and how art can blur the line between beauty, violence, and deception.

Colour by Gleb Forminykh - Northmead, NSW

Red Note 7

When the colours are only bright in your dreams, what remains in the real world?

Dr Frank's Teddies by Kieran Clancy-Lowe - Glebe, NSW

iPhone 12

Dr Frank plays god. Again.

Evacuate by Ziyang Ye - Kensington, NSW

iPhone 14 Pro Max

A sudden zombie outbreak plunges the world into chaos as urgent government broadcasts order civilians to flee to designated safe zones. In a cramped apartment, one man desperately stuffs essentials into a bag, preparing to escape. But his movements are frantic, almost violent, and his breath grows uneven and guttural. As he reaches for the door, it becomes chillingly clear: he isn’t running from the infection.

Fractured Lines by Marina Zivkovic - Nowra & Wakely, NSW

Samsung S21 Ultra

Alone in a fractured reality, a woman spirals between dreams, memories, and waking life. Fractured Lines explores the subconscious landscape of isolation, obsession, and the quiet divide between creativity, madness and genius.

grief.exe by Riley Fletcher - Rouse Hill, NSW

iPhone 12 Pro Max

At what cost are we feeding the AI algorithm.......

Kung Fu Debut by Bevan Garozzo - Denham Court, NSW

iPhone 15 Pro Max & iPhone 16 Pro Max

Bevan, a man with Down Syndrome, is working on an ‘inclusive’ film set as a Director’s Attachment. However, no-one on set is taking him seriously or giving him any opportunities or work. He ends up standing in the corner watching and tidying up the coffee and tea table. When the lead actor gets injured during a fight scene, the set comes to a stressful standstill as the actor is rushed to hospital. Whilst this commotion is happening, Bevan, who has been watching the whole fight choreography, starts practicing what he saw. He is perfect and very skilled. The AD sees Bevan and rushes to the director to tell them that Bevan would be the perfect substitute. The director is hesitant but when the AD reminds them that they say they’re ‘inclusive’, the director agrees reluctantly. The film ends with a montage of Bevan on the red-carpet, a clearly successful actor and up and coming martial arts star.

Mira by Jock Davidson - WA

Google Pixel 8

Anya wakes up to find Mira out of bed and talking to... someone.

NAMASTE by Vladimir Zokitch - iPhone 12 Pro

Wollongong, NSW

Namaste is a one-take short film where serenity collides with chaos. What begins as a peaceful day, guided by calm breaths and meditation, takes an unexpected turn when a woman steps into a local florist shop. As events unfold and karma intervenes, the calm of namaste is replaced by sharp gasps of fear, and the desperate breath of those running out of time.

Nothing in the Dark by Kevin James O’Neill - Orlando, USA

iPhone 14

The world outside becomes quiet as his mind grows louder.

Over the Hill in Clackerville: Epidode 8 by Steven Caldwell & Nathan Baldassero - Coomera, QLD & Ontario, Canada

iPad Pro

On the verge of his IT Shop closing, a computer whizz but business loser meets an accountant turned porn star granny; but when the potential romance with her also means embracing the craziness of Clackerville, he is forced to “grow a pair” and become a man or risk losing everything he loves.     If “South Park” had a sexual encounter with "Big Mouth” the love child would be “Over The Hill In Clackerville”. It’s an adult animated comedy series featuring a group of middle-aged oddities living their lives in the crazy town of Clackerville.

Scoot Life by Bella & Bea - Newtown, NSW

A scooter must live to scoot another day on the wild streets of inner Sydney.

Shadows by Olivia Cogorno & Juli Papa - Buenos Aires, Argentina

iPhone 12

If someone is chasing you, you better run.

Signal by See Hari Varma Sagi - Visakhapatna, India

iPhone 16 Pro

In this digital age, the signal(Wi-fi) is an omnipresent, invisible force—a continuous stream that has become as essential to modern life as breath itself. When that signal is lost, it's a terrifying cessation, almost as if humanity has collectively stopped breathing.

The short film Signal plunges us into this nightmare reality, following a girl who awakens to a world suddenly deprived of the vital, invisible current that dictates our very existence .

The Chosen One by Aaron Scully - Rouse Hill, NSW

Samsung Galaxy Ultra 23

A friend is invited to a gathering only to find that they worship fresh breath.

The Day He Gave Me Flowers by James Guilar - Labrador, QLD

iPhone 16 Pro Max & iPhone 13 Pro Max

A modern twist on an old folklore.

Sophie comes to realise that her fiancé might not love her like he used to. And it couldn't come at a worse timing as a plague targeting unrequited love hits our shores.

The Hue of Red (Laal) by Maanavi Bedi - Mumbai, India

OnePlus 13

LAAL is more than a colour. It's the pulse of life itself. It’s the color of youth’s fire, love’s bond, the soul’s search, and the stillness of death... It burns in both life’s triumphs and its farewells, only to return with rebirth. Laal describes the eternal cycle of life and its journey through the colour RED.

ThreadLoop by Mark Bernard - Melbourne, VIC

iPad 9th Gen

In the animated film ThreadLoop, the main character, shaped by their mixed heritage of Indian and Australian roots from Victoria, struggles with an unending cycle of self-doubt and mental anguish. Caught between two cultural worlds, they glimpse a brighter future just beyond reach but can’t escape the feeling of being held back. As they battle to breathe in and break free from this 'connected' loop, they come to realize that the true force holding them back isn’t external—it's a deeply ingrained part of themselves. This inner force, aware of their cultural identity, fears, and insecurities, manifests as the mental barriers they've built.

In their journey, they not only face personal struggles, but also the shared weight carried by many who live between cultures. As they move through a space shaped by memory, tradition, and inherited emotion, they find themselves in something bigger than their own story—a reflection of our collective home, where identity is layered, complex, and deeply connected. But even as they push forward, the loop begins to close again, pulling them back to where it all started.

SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Adaptation Finalist

The Park by Aaron Scully and the Hills Drama School Adult Class - Rouse Hill, NSW

Samsung Galaxy Ultra 23

"Dave and Tom honour their dead friend's birthday wish by celebrating in the park. Tom is confronted by his girlfriend as he is hiding a secret. Watching them from a balcony is Jared and Stace who have a secret of their own.”