SYDNEY BIENNALE CINEVERSE WINNERS
All CINEVERSE awards and selections are IMDb Certified
Access Official CINEVERSE awards at the Laurel Center
SEASON 9 — MAR 2026
BIENNALE WINNERS AND OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
VERY SHORT (<1 to 4 minutes)
Best - Fiction Short
Best - Animation Short
Best - Art & Experimental
Best - Audience Choice
Best - New South Wales Director
SHORT FILM (4 - 15 minutes)
Best - Fiction Short
Best - Animation Short
Best - Art & Experimental
Best - Audience Choice
Best - New South Wales Director
LONG SHORT (15 - 25 minutes)
Best - Fiction Short
Best - Animation Short
Best - Art & Experimental
Best - Audience Choice
Best - New South Wales Director
FEATURETTE (25 - 55 minutes)
Best - Fiction Short
Best - Animation Short
Best - Art & Experimental
Best - Audience Choice
Best - New South Wales Director
SEASON 8 — OCT 2024 (MEL)
WINNERS AND OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
BEST GENRE DIRECTOR - The Dam // Andrew Sully
BEST ACTRESS - Remi // Sally Cheung
BEST HORROR - Blinded // Blake Hay
BEST FANTASY - Tales of the Hunted // Téa Mancini
BEST SCI-FI - Remi // Justin Evans
BEST COMEDY - Weasel // Hisham Iyad Hajir
BEST MUSICAL - Napalm Roses // Jyo Miyaji
BEST HISTORICAL - Faded Soldier // Richard Kubli, Michael Kubli, Boki Stanisic
BEST DRAMA - Toxic Shock // Anna Warwick
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GENRE SHOW NOMINEE - ABSUMO // Emile BIEGEL
GENRE SHOW NOMINEE - Not Alone // Maryam Imogen Ghouth
GENRE SHOW NOMINEE - Launch at Paradise // Carrie Ann Quinn
GENRE SHOW NOMINEE - Sleepwalker // Brandon Auman
GENRE SHOW NOMINEE - Overclocking // Alexander Vikulov
BEST SHORT - The Three Wise Men // Kirk Mihelakos
BEST DIRECTOR - IN-LAW OUTLAWS // Adam Copeland
BEST ACTOR - Rostrum // Daniel Kuberek
BEST THRILLER - Finding Light // Nirvana Nagi
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - FOTOAUTOMAT // Rémy Mégard
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NOMINEE - For a Moment // Darryl Koh Yuan Jie
NOMINEE - Sablewood // Courtney Spencer
NOMINEE - Taste // Derrick Lui
SEASON 7 — MAY 2024 (MEL)
WINNERS AND OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
BEST PICTURE (FEATURE) - REMNANT // Mike Horan
BEST AUSTRALIAN FILM - DAISY // Alyssa Scott
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM - THE GARDEN // Julian Wang
BEST ACTOR - CASSIDY KRYGGER // from ‘Daisy’
BEST DIRECTOR - KEN KIMURA // from ‘The Other Guy’
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - HARD TO SWALLOW // Claire Riverland
BEST MELBOURNE FILMMAKER - LONELINESS // Caity Jean Amos, Danien Gabriel Berends
BEST THRILLER - YARDBIRDS // Daniel Shin
BEST DRAMA - ONE HUNDRED AND ONE YEARS AND TWO WEEKS // Matthew Cantone
BEST MUSIC VIDEO - WOULD YOU BE MINE // Annabel Mactaggart
BEST RISING STAR DIRECTOR - HARD TO SWALLOW // Claire Riverland
BEST STUDENT FILM - INFLUENCE // Nick Vidler
BEST STUDENT COMEDY - TRUE BLUE // Kate Beales
BEST STUDENT THRILLER - 10 SECONDS TILL MIDNIGHT // Harrison Ewart-Dart
BEST STUDENT DRAMA - BOXING DAY // Leigh Schilling
BEST STUDENT GENRE - TALES OF THE HUNTED // Téa Mancini
BEST STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY - WITH EVERYTHING I AM. // Lindsay Davies
SEASON 5 — AUG 2023 (MEL)
WINNERS AND OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Best Picture // Boys Will Be // Jake Moss
Best Director // Jake Moss // Boys Will Be
Best Actor // Dimitri Politis // Boys Will Be
Best HybridGenre Film // Banshee Cried Silver // Harrison Ritchie-Jones
Best Australian Film // Djaambi // Joel Brown
Best Student Short // Unseen // Alex Nesic
Best Period Drama Hybrid // Nuclear // Madison Hislop-Stoesse
Best Horror Hybrid // BA NA NA // Angus James Taylor
Best Fantasy Hybrid // Tiny Darlings // Sebastian Bertoli
Best Sci-Fi Hybrid // Quartzo // Evandro Caixeta, João Gilberto Lara
Best Animation // Reincarnation Mall // Eric Giessmann, Piers Goffart
SEASON 4 — AUG 2022 (MEL)
WINNERS AND FINALISTS
BEST AUSTRALIAN FILM // Good Times, Bad Moon // Kristian Taylor-Wood
BEST NEW ZEALAND FILM // The Gun // T.J. McIntosh
BEST SHORT FILM // Today // Andrew Jaksch
BEST FEATURE FILM // I’m Not Gay // Nathan Short
BEST ANIMATION // Roses in the Night // Pencho Kunchev
BEST SCI-FI // Angst // Béla Baptiste
BEST FANTASY // The Mirror // Leila Murton Poole
BEST HORROR // Drip // Sidney Fenton
BEST HISTORICAL // Golem // Ryan Cauchi
BEST DOCUMENTARY // Cry of the Forests // Jane Hammond
BEST DIRECTOR // Today // Andrew Jaksch
BEST WRITING // The Mirror // Leila Murton Poole
SEASON 3 — AUG 2021 (MEL)
WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Best Feature: Anonymous Animals
Best Short: Announced at the Event
Best Director: Announced at the Event
Best Actor / Actress: Zealandia - Laura Thompson
Best Australian Film: Evenfall
Best International Film: Das Spray
Best Sci-Fi: Zealandia
Best Animation: Mr. & Mrs Mantis
Best Art Direction: Star Thief
Judges Choice Award: Hollow
Best Drama: Exodus: The Endless Valley
Best Comedy: The Shut-in
Best Fantasy: IMAGO
Best Thriller: The Call
Best Australian Screenplay: Acceptance
Gold Screenplay: Prophet
Silver Screenplay: Deadfolks
Bronze Screenplay: Dino Pirates
Judges Choice Screenplay: A Special Kind of Wonder
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
— Mr. & Mrs Mantis
— IMAGO
— Anonymous Animals
— The Call
— The Spray
— “THEM”
— Zealandia
— Gone
— Evenfall
— Resistance
— The Shut-in
— Star Thief
— Exodus: The Endless Valley
— The Dead Hands of Dublin
— Koreatown Ghost Story
— Prophet
— Dino Pirates
— The Future Force
— Acceptance
— Deadfolks
— A Special Kind of Wonder
SEASON 2 — AUG 2020 (MEL)
WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Best Short: New Woman
Best Director: New Woman - Benjamin Noah
Best Australian Film: Nineteen Ninety Nine
Best International Film: Gun Metal Max
Best Sci-Fi: Brolga
Best Animation: On The Beach
Best Drama: Nineteen Ninety Nine
Best Music Video: Astronaut
Best Fantasy: Hollow
Best Comedy: Como Y Porque Se Ha Esfumado Don Jose
Gold Screenplay: Starhopper
Silver Screenplay: Double FF
Bronze Screenplay: The Lost Girls
Judges Choice Screenplay: The Real Thing
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Astronaut
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Brolga
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Como y Porque se ha esfumado don Jose
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Gun Metal Max
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Hollow
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Master of light
OFFICIAL SELECTION: New Woman
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Nineteen Ninety Nine
OFFICIAL SELECTION: On The Beach
OFFICIAL SELECTION: The Hotline
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Ways To See
FINALIST: Alta California
FINALIST: Bad Sugar
FINALIST: Da Sol
FINALIST: Dislodged
FINALIST: Double FF
FINALIST: Dream of Mirrors
FINALIST: Dumest Generation
FINALIST: Epidemic
FINALIST: Fable of the Jade Tiger
FINALIST: Epidemic
FINALIST: Fangs
FINALIST: Gullun Drift
FINALIST: Hell's Heaven
BEST IN SHOW - ONLINE FINALISTS
A Living Dog
Alice-Miranda Friends Forever
Artik
Balance
Black Heart, Red Hands
Charlie & Yip
Circle of Bones
Circle of Stone
David and Goliath
Everything is Upstream
Flame
Flow
Frankie Teardrop
Gatcha!
Ghost in the Gun
Kingdom of Stars
Lycanthropy
MIX
March of The Potguins
On/Off
Phubber
SENTIENCE
St George and the Dragon
Swipe
The Bear when Over the Mountain
The Boy and the Robin
The Other Side
U.
VESTIGES THE MYSTERY OF LA CIENAGA DAM
SEASON 1 — AUG 2019 (AKL)
WINNERS AND FINALISTS
FILM OF THE YEAR: Kalewa
BEST SHORT: Trollbridge
Best Director, Best Australian Film: Trollbridge
Best International Film: Paris You Got Me
Best Sci-Fi: BucketHeads
Best Pasifika Film: Kalewa
Best Experimental: Gloom / Bloom
Best Drama: Eternity
Best Music Video: Linoleum
Best Fantasy, Best Asian Film: In Full Bloom
Best NZ Film, Best Comedy: Cosmic Adventures
Best Screenplay: Desposyni