SF3 is back for 2024 with our 10th season celebrating the best in smartphone cinema from across the world & we want your films. Shorts, features, adaptations, AI films, social vids and plenty of special awards including films both shot and edited on mobiles and our brand new award for the best film shot using the Black Magic Cam App – we want them all. We encourage filmmakers of all ages and abilities to pick up your phones or tablets and make a film for us. Entries open till September 1st and over $50,000 in prizes on offer.
We had a whirlwind these past Aussie school holidays, teaching 11 days of masterclasses plus one regional screening over 14 days. Phew! Tired but absolutely adore inspiring all these young and emerging creatives to create films with just their imaginations and their phones or tablets. The power!!! We taught for 3Bridges Community, Powerhouse Museum, up in Moree and Inverell with It’s going ok and support from the Create NSW and The Office for Regional Youth as part of their School Holiday Break Program plus some private online mentoring sessions. A whole host of new films coming your way soon!
What we all want to know is, who took home the big awards! We are so proud to announce our winners from our 2023 Gala Finals:
SF3 Best Film Award – Lodi by Courtney Coker
SF3 Best Director Award – Lodi by Courtney Coker
SF3 & ACS Best Cinematography Award – SJ van Breda for Freeflow
SF3 & ACS Best Cinematography Runner-Up Award – Bartosz Wozniak, Kacper Wozniak & Sally-Ann Dunn for Misaligned from TRIO Stories
SF3 Best Screenplay Award – Lodi by Courtney Coker
SF3 Best Screenplay Award – Idiot Proof by Jonathan Lagudi and Bailey Spalding
SF3 Best Documentary Award – Bevan by Bevan Garozzo & Arinta Hardjowijono
SF3 Best Editing Award – Freeflow edited by SJ van Breda
SF3 Best Original Score Award – ARLO AND THE SEA by Michael Drew
SF3 Best Actress Award – Courtney Coker for Lodi
SF3 Best Actor Award – Jonathan Lagudi for Idiot Proof
SF3 & Luma Touch Finished on Mobile Award – The Art of Living (with a Mechanical Keyboard) by Ronald James Baculo
SF3 & WIFT NSW Best Female Creative Award – Michèle Jedlicka for That thing we all share
SF3 First Nations Award supported by Dolby – Charli Fletcher for The Locket
SF3 Community & Diversity Award – Nganakaapu by Harlisha Newie-Joe
SF3 Founders’ Flick Pick – ARLO & THE SEA by Damian Overton & Ruben Russo and FOFO MEANS FATHER by Denzel S. Owoo
SF3 #FILMBREAKER Award – Idiot Proof by Jonathan Lagudi & Laura Brogan-Browne
SF3 & Chicken & Chips Best Pitch Award – Reid McGowan for THE BEST
SF360 Best Film Winners – Christopher Young for The Careful Project – Kiera Jas – Thoughts and Davide Rapp for Kursaal
Congrats to all of our SF3 Kids filmmakers, their families who support them, their friends and teachers. Making a film is a team effort. BUT, who are our winners you ask? Here they are:
SF3 Kids Best Film Award High School – At Your Service by Max Shao & Charlie Bradford
SF3 Kids Best Film Award Primary School – My Cookie by Becky Hampson& Sofiah Wiseman
SF3 Kids Best Director Award – Watching by Indianna Thompson
SF3 Kids Best Cinematography Award – Bullet Proof Kids by Tom Morfitt-White & Charlie Wason
SF3 Kids Best Screenplay Award – At Your Service by Max Shao & Charlie Bradford and He She They by Lucia Lobesy
SF3 Kids Best Documentary Award – Me. My eleven years. War by Marusya Shuvalova and A Child’s Guide to Swearing: A Short Documentary by Miles Fisher
SF3 Kids Best Editing Award – At Your Service by Max Shao & Charlie Bradford and Alone by Connor Tattersall
SF3 Kids Best Actor Award – Tom Morfitt-White for Bullet Proof Kids and Ralph for Let Him Out
SF3 Kids Best Actress Award – Ajila Miller-Gersbach for A Day in the Life of an F-Boy
And it is my pleasure to announce our 2023 Mini Award Winners:
SF3 Mini Best International Film – Human Migrant by Kamal Mimoune TAHTAH
SF3 Mini Best Australian Film – Mocha Madness by Greta O’Donoghue & Fran Nagle
SF3 Mini Runner-Up Award – Clock Off by Martin Reyes
SF3 Mini Runner-Up Award – If Nature Could Talk by Billie Dean
SF3 Mini Runner-Up Award – The Elements of Movement by Brionne Samuel Olsen
SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Adaptation Award – The Beginning of the End by Tirel Weerasingha
SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Adaptation Award – COVID Travel by Shady Cosgrove
Kicking off SF3 2023 we have 2 FREE ONLINE MASTERCLASSES and we want you to come along.
Wednesday 15th November at Midday AEST / 1 am GMT / 5pm PST, join us for a music editing masterclass hosted by Andy Wilson, Head of A&R at Melodie Music where he will demonstrate the Melodie platform and features, and offer some great tips on music cutting and editing.
Then on on Thursday 16th November – 7pm AEST / 8am GMT / 12 midnight PST join our Editing Masterclass with the legends at Luma Touch – the world’s top editing app for all devices. This masterclass is designed for filmmakers of all ages and levels of editing experience. The Luma Team will show you the tips of editing on a device, all about their amazing app and will be available to answer all your questions.
Have you seen out trailer? Featuring a selection of our 2023 Finalists from across our 5 categories. Come and experience them for yourselves on the big screen and experience the best in smartphone cinema from across the world at our 9th annual SF3. Happening in Sydney at the Actors Centre Australia November 18th and 19th plus online too.
Get your tickets via link on our homepage.
Trailer edited by our amazing Gala Finalist, SJ van Breda.
Do you have a short horror film filmed on a phone? Or have an idea for one? The Lithgow Halloween ‘Fright Night’ Film Competition is open for entries and wants horror films 10 mins or less. They must be shot on a phone or tablet and can be any form of horror, as long as they are G rated and there are 4 x $500 cash prizes up for grabs. Entry is FREE here – https://filmfreeway.com/LithgowHalloweenFilmCompetition or email lithgowtransformation@westernsydney.edu.au
Films will be judged in 4 category areas; ‘Most Creative’, ‘Best Performance’ and ‘Best Youth Film’ There will also be a ‘People’s Choice’ award and great prizes will be on offer.
Shortlisted films will be screened and winners announced at a spooktacular gala event launching the 2023 Lithgow Halloween Festival at 7pm Friday 27 October at the Lithgow Transformation Hub.
Lithgow Transformation Hub is partnering with Seven Valleys Tourism and Events and SF3 for the fourth year to hold the Smartphone film competition at this year’s Lithgow Halloween festival.
