Opening Night Gala: An Evening at the Young Australian Film Festival

Festival Co-founder and Director Alexander Dymalovski (centre). Images courtesy of Young Australian Film Festival.

As Hollywood conglomerates outsource their visual effects production to Australian companies, and Australian shores serve as cheap filming location stand-ins for C-tier Liam Neeson action films, hundreds upon hundreds of budding filmmakers are unable to find funding and a platform for their films. Broadly, with the severe lack of funding for the arts in general, it is no wonder why many feel that simply getting a foot in the door for their locally-made films is no longer a viable possibility as it was some decades ago. This is a problem that the Young Australian Film Festival (YAFF) aims to solve: to platform and empower the next generation of young voices in film. From small beginnings – 60 short films at Lido Cinemas in 2024 – to a wide-ranging, interstate selection of 125 shorts, YAFF has returned for 2026. 

YAFF opened at IMAX Melbourne on the 15th of September, introduced by festival co-founder and director Alexander Dymalovski. That the festival was able to platform its young filmmakers on not only a big screen but the biggest screen possible, stealing it from The Odyssey for one night as Dymalovski enthusiastically declared, was awe-inspiring. His passion during this opening speech was supplemented by the sheer size of the screen behind him, a physically symbolic testament to how well this platforming has achieved its goals. 

“Dymalovski greeted everyone who walked through the door, thanked them for coming, and embodied the inter-connectedness integral to filmmaking’s collaborative nature.”

This opening night struck me by how much it earnestly and sincerely emulated the prestige and buzz of its larger festival contemporaries. A red carpet with sponsors adorning the wall meant filmmakers and actors alike of the films being shown were able to soak up the experience of a Cannes or Venice premiere. Actors young and old were able to see themselves on the big screen. Every time a new film began it sparked a fiery applause from those who worked on it and their friends and family.

The sense of community was deeply felt through YAFF. Dymalovski greeted everyone who walked through the door, thanked them for coming, and embodied the inter-connectedness integral to filmmaking’s collaborative nature. I have no doubt that many introduced to each other over the course of the festival will go on to make a film together, and isn’t that wonderful!

Silver City (dir. Ameya Ajay, 2026). Images courtesy of Young Australian Film Festival.

Every film in the festival bears the mark of youthfulness. They are all low-budget, distinctly homemade, and quite intimate in their formal aims. Many of the films creatively work within their budgetary limitations to great effect, and one film I’d like to highlight specifically is Ameya Ajay’s Silver City, a lovely multi-media film encompassing a cat and her owner amidst homemade miniatures, experiments with colour, shadow, special effects and drawings. Silver City encompasses everything that makes YAFF special, evoking a singular vision on the part of Ajay, who in fact has three films playing at YAFF. Silver City owns the fact that it is both budget-limited and made by a hopeful and youthful emerging talent, and these are the kinds of films you just won’t see anywhere outside of YAFF, even with initiatives for emerging filmmakers at other festivals.. To see something that would otherwise be limited to internet screens on the majesty of the silver screen is classically inspiring for any budding filmmakers in the crowd.

The Young Australian Film Festival opened on the 15th of September and is currently running nation-wide in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane until the 24th of September.

You can follow coverage for the festival on their Instagram and website.

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