The Melbourne International Film Festival has announced the winners of the 2021 MIFF Shorts Awards, which reward filmmakers with more than $63,000 in prizes. The awards are accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, resulting in half of the MIFF Shorts category winners now being eligible for next year’s Oscars. In a virtual ceremony hosted on MIFF Play (Melbourne International Film Festival’s Virtual Platform), eight out of the 80 films in the program received awards from the jury consisting of award-winning journalist Osman Faruqi, writer/director Natalie Erika James and industry expert Alexandra Burke.

Winners are below:

The Game
(dir. Roman Hodel)
City of Melbourne Grand Prix for Best Short Film

Baltasar
(dir. Brietta Hague)
Film Victoria Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film

Reptile
(dir. Jordan Giusti)
Award For Emerging Australian Filmmaker

Lili Alone
(dir. Zou Jing)
Award For Best Fiction Short Film

Listen To The Beat Of Our Images
(dir Audrey Jean-Baptiste and Maxime Jean-Baptiste)
Award For Best Documentary Short Film

Gravedad
(dir. Matisse Gonzalez)
Award For Best Animation Short Film

Happy Valley
(dir. Simon Liu)
Award For Best Experimental Short Film

Lizard
(dir. Akinola Davies Jr)
Blackmagic Design Award For best Cinematography In A Short Film