FANCY a quickie?
Flickerfest 2026 will be screening the best short films from Australia and around the world at Luna Leederville Outdoor from February 19-21.
Friday night features the best international selections including two Oscar-nominated shorts.
A Friend of Dorothy starring UK acting royalty Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Fry, takes the audience on a heartwarming journey where wisdom, compassion and friendship are found in the most unexpected places.
A lonely widow’s quiet life is upended when a teenage boy accidentally kicks his football into her garden.
Another oscar-nominated treat is The Singers, a genre-bending film adaptation of a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden men connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off.
• (top to bottom) Radix, A Friend of Dorothy, and The Singers are showing at Flickerfest.
Viral sensation
With a cast comprised of first-time actors from the unlikeliest corners of TikTok and YouTube, the film is a celebration of diamonds in the rough and a testament to the power of vulnerability through art.
A poignant short is Dancing Sober, proving that short doesn’t mean light on emotion.
Bullied by wife and daughter and mistreated at work, Herman escapes with boozed up dancing alone in the middle of the night…until a drunken dance floor takeover at an office party turns him into a viral sensation and sparks a long overdue rebellion.
Other international highlights include Katti—in a vibrant, multi-generational Indian household, 8-year-old Bittoo finds herself sidelined after the birth of her baby brother—and My Plastic Mother: Eki, living by the landfill, searches for a memento to honour his late mother.
In these times of geo-political uncertainty, we all need a good laugh, so the best comedy shorts night (Saturday February 21) is sure to attract sandgropers.
A surreal and quintessentially British affair is Odd Socks.
Starring Patterson Joseph (Peep Show, Wonka) and Sandi Toksvig (QI), the film is set in a world where humans live alongside sock-monsters.
Maverick human detective McGuin must battle lies, deception, and every movie cliché in his hunt for the truth when a sock monster is murdered.
Mockumentary
Another original and slightly dark flight of fancy is Shrimp Fried Rice.
The Shrimp and his human puppet, Dave, are the chefs at a gourmet Chinese restaurant. This mockumentary follows The Shrimp as he seeks redemption against Rat Bitch – a certain rodent who was the benefactor of a wildly successful animated children’s movie about his culinary prowess.
Meanwhile, Dave, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, is put at risk of deportation by The Shrimp’s actions. With Dave under The Shrimp’s control, the two showdown with Rat Bitch in a TV cooking show to finally decide which animal-controlled-chef reigns supreme.
Sweet Tooth will appeal to fans of whimsy. As Doe Town gears up for its 55th Annual Smile Contest, undefeated champion Bucky Bantershire (Pete Gardner) begins to unravel when his long-suppressed sweet tooth (Tony Award Winner Marissa Jaret Winokur) resurfaces, singing, dancing and dragging him into sugary chaos.
The festival opens on February 19 with nine WA-related films including Trading Cards by dir/wri/prod Radheya Jang, Without White Clovers by dir/wri/prod Cooper Clarke, and Mango Seed by dir/wri Berni Jiang, who was born and raised in Perth.
For listing times see lunapalace.com.au.