Survival of Kindness
The London Australian Film Festival is proud to partner with the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) each year and screen some of their best student short films before our features.

This year we included the following films from these shorts from a brilliant shortlist - I'm sure you will all join us in congratulating these young filmmakers! We look forward to following their careers & hopefully screening more of their films in the future.
In The Room Where He Waits
8:30pm  Friday 11 July 2025
Finsbury Park Picturehouse
Unit 1, Cinema LS, 17 City N Pl, 
Finsbury Park, London N4 3FU
HYDRAULIC 
with IN VITRO 
2024, Drama, unrated 15+
16m 

Director/Writer: Nicole Hutton-Lewis
Producer: Rhory Mackellar
Cinematographer: Jacqui Sharah
Production Designer: Zoe Fraser
Editor/Sound Supervisor: Max King
Music/Composer: Micaela Osfield

Harry is torn from tending to his bed-ridden mother by his erratic and sticky-fingered father, who takes him on a wild goose chase. 
In The Room Where He Waits
2pm  Saturday 11 July 2025
The Garden Cinema
39-41 Parker St, London WC2B 5PQ
CALL IT ANYTHING 
with A GRAND MOCKERY
2022, Drama, unrated 15+
16m 

Director/Producer: Melvin Kwong
Cinematographer: Jesse Phillips
Editor: Izzat Nadeem 
Sound Supervisor: Samuel Turner
Music: Nodira Islam

Unable to find the words that are in his heart, a son enlists three musicians to translate into music the letters he wishes to write to his mother, hoping to give himself a peace of mind. 
In The Room Where He Waits
8pm  Saturday 11 July 2025
The Garden Cinema
39-41 Parker St, London WC2B 5PQ
THE DOOR 
with BLISS
1993, Drama, unrated 15+
19m 

Director: Josie Keys
Writer: Daniel Krige
Producer: Jo-Anne McGowan
Cinematographer: Brigid Costello
Editor: Anne Pratton 
Music: Stephen Lalor

Cast: Barry Otto, Inge Hornstra, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Ivan Zavela

A bedroom door becomes the focus of a teenage girl's battle with her insensitive stepfather to reclaim the simpler relationship she remembers sharing with her mother.
In The Room Where He Waits
1:30pm  Sunday 13 July 2025
Finsbury Park Picturehouse
Unit 1, Cinema LS, 17 City N Pl, 
Finsbury Park, London N4 3FU
WILFRED GORDON MCDONALD PARTRIDGE 
with MAGIC BEACH
2023, Family film, unrated 3+
14m 

Director: Hattie Archibald
Screenwriter: Jacob Melamed
Producer: Caleb Irwin
Cinematographer: Pete Moses
Production & Costume Designer: Roberto Manzini
Editor: Amy Dunn
Music: Hamish Francis
Sound Supervisor: Jason Boyd

When 6 year old Wilfrid finds out that his 96 year old best friend Nancy has lost her memory, he sets out to see if he can get it back. 
In The Room Where He Waits
4:30pm  Sunday 13 July 2025
Finsbury Park Picturehouse
Unit 1, Cinema LS, 17 City N Pl, 
Finsbury Park, London N4 3FU
TO BE SILENT
with LIKE MY BROTHER
2022, Drama, unrated 15+
9m 16s 

Noongar and Spinifex Aboriginal woman Tace Stevens explores the impact of code-switching on her identity, before revealing what led her to embrace the power of standing firm in who she is, no matter where she is.
In The Room Where He Waits
7:30pm  Sunday 13 July 2025
Finsbury Park Picturehouse
Unit 1, Cinema LS, 17 City N Pl, 
Finsbury Park, London N4 3FU
TUESDAY, TUESDAY
with HE AIN'T HEAVY (Closing night gala)
2025, Drama, unrated 15+
15m 

Writer: Lianne Mackessy, Emily Sheehan
Director: Lianne Mackessy
Producer: Catherine van der Rijt
Cinematographer: Annapurna Disha Mukherjee
Costume Designer: Ruby Elliott
Production Designer: Elise Zeman
Editor: Adisha Bansal
Sound Supervisor: Lara Bellini
Music/Composer: Gareth Hudson

When an idealistic support worker learns that her client living with younger-onset dementia is being moved into care, she judges his wife’s decision - until one final day forces her to confront the complexities of love, duty, and letting go.