We take a closer look at this year’s big award nominees for Show Me Shorts—Aotearoa’s biggest short film festival—and where you can watch ‘em.
The Show Me Shorts Film Festival has announced the 2024 award nominees with Honey Kaha (pictured above) leading the pack with four nominations. From October 10 – 28, you’ll be able to catch these anointed short films in their natural environment, the big-screen, as well as the award-winning films in select locations and the rest of the carefully curated programme—which you can dive into here.
Keep scrolling for a taste of each nominated film, which section they’ll be screening in, and how you can watch those collections.
But first… who judges the awards?
The National Jury includes Whakaata Māori’s head of content curation Manukaroa Anderson (Ngāti Rangiwewehi), Beijing Film Academy’s vice-chair Professor Sun Lijun, and Hamburg Kurzfilm Festival programmer Anna Feistel.
For the International Jury there’s NZ Film Commission funding executive Christina Andreef, NZ Asia Pacific Film Festival chairman Bo Li, and Script to Screen executive director Dale Corlett.
Finally, the Screenplay Jury contains producer/writer/commissioner Steve Barr and Flicks editor Steve Newall (hi, Steve!).
Audience members will also have the opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice Award, which will be presented at the end of the festival. You can vote during the fest via www.showmeshorts.co.nz.
And the nominees are…
The Brother
Nominated for Best International Film | Playing as part of Lives in the Firing Line
“In the midst of the revolution, a young man is preparing for his wedding when he meets a soldier who needs help.”
Cold Feet
Nominated for Best Screenplay | Playing as part of Deeper into Love (as well as Auckland & Wellington Opening Night)
“A continuous take following a bride-to-be who is having doubts just before she walks down the aisle.”
Figment
Nominated for Best Director, Editor & Cinematographer | Playing as part of Dystopian Dreams (as well as Christchurch Opening Night & Christchurch Filmmaker Talk)
“Crippled by loneliness, a woman is prescribed a drug that gives her an imaginary friend. But this new relationship becomes more complicated than she could ever have imagined.”
Hitch Hiking is Safe
Nominated for Best Editor | Playing as part of Slashers and Splatters (as well as Auckland Filmmaker Talk)
“One killer hitches a ride from another, unbeknownst to them both.”
Honey Kaha
Nominated for Best New Zealand Film, Actor (Kura Turuwhenua), Director & Cinematographer | Playing as part of Aotearoa – Ka Awatea (as well as Wellington Opening Night & Wellington Filmmaker Talk)
“When dinner with her son is ruined by seafood poachers, Honey Kaha must hunt down the colonisers who are responsible and bring them to justice.”
Lange Nicht Gesehen (Long Time No See)
Nominated for Best International Film | Playing as part of German Focus
“When a woman returns to her office job at a pharmaceutical company after a long illness, she discovers that her login no longer works.”
Lea Tupu’anga (Mother Tongue)
Nominated for Best New Zealand Film | Playing as part of Aotearoa – Ka Awatea
“A young speech therapist disconnected from her Tongan heritage must find a way to communicate or risk her patient’s life.”
Māori Time
Nominated for Best Actor (Manu Bennett) | Playing as part of Generational Threads
“A Māori property-developer is forced to confront his fear of death when an ancient skull is unearthed, and a tohunga must be brought in.”
Marion
Nominated for Best International Film | Playing as part of Finding Your True North
“Marion, the only female bull-jumper in France, prepares for her performance in a packed arena.”
Pack Rat
Nominated for Best Screenplay | Playing as part of Defy Expectations
“At a rural New Zealand paddock party, a fifteen-year-old girl fights to keep her place among the pack of boys she has grown up with.”
Rock Paper Scissors
Nominated for Best International Film | Playing as part of Lives in the Firing Line
“A father and son running a makeshift hospital on the front line, must find a way to protect their patients when a platoon of soldiers approaches their building.”
Rochelle
Nominated for Best Editor & Cinematographer | Playing as part of The Sampler
“A presumptuous teenage boy signs up for a local demolition derby with a car named Rochelle – the car his best friend killed himself in.”
The Sea Inside Her
Nominated for Best Actor (Kilda Northcott) & Director | Playing as part of The Sampler
“Fear takes full shape when a loving grandmother is charged with the care of her young grandchild.”
Vivie
Nominated for Best New Zealand Film & Screenplay | Playing as part of Deeper Into Love
“Amy has a love-hate relationship with her vagina. Every time she tries to have sex with a new lover, her vagina Vivie, refuses to play ball.”
And the nominees for Best Music Video
Show Me Shorts also platforms some of the country’s best music videos and it’s a real treat to experience them in a cinema. This year’s nominees are Tōtara by Aro (playing in Generational Threads), Real by Beacon Bloom (playing in Dystopian Dreams), and Never Get Nowhere by Mac Glocky (playing in Slashers and Splatters).
