Bringing the best of Australian
filmmaking to Regional Victoria.
Bringing the best of
Australian filmmaking
to Regional Victoria.
Poco is a biennial festival with entries open to filmmakers and animators from all over the country. Our goal is to foster new and emerging talent and build a community for creative minds to share, collaborate and inspire.
Our Story
Our STory
shorts in winter
AUG 04
SEP 04
Entries across any genre are accepted including documentary, music videos, comedy, drama, horror, animation, sci-fi and more. Awards for Best Short, Jury Prize and Best Student Film will be presented at Poco's live screening August 3rd, 2024.
$12k worth of prizes
SAE Best Short Film: $8,000
Jury Prize: $1000, a DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor, and DaVinci Resolve Studio
Best Student Film: $3,000
Audience Choice Award: $250 Lemac gift card
Best Emerging Talent Award: $250 Lemac gift card

live screening
All finalist films will be screened at the iconic Regent Cinema in Ballarat. Known for its striking Classical Moderne style dating back to 1927, the cinema is made popular for its impressive 700+ seat Cinema One, one of the largest in regional Victoria.
acclaimed judges
Mark Molloy (Australian feature film director), Tracey Rigney (filmmaker / playwright), Alexei Toliopoulos (Writer / filmmaker / comedian / podcaster / film critic).
and popcorn
Choc Tops too.
Entries across any genre are accepted including documentary, music videos, comedy, drama, horror, animation, sci-fi and more. Awards for Best Short, Jury Prize and Best Student Film will be presented at Poco's live screening August 3rd, 2024.
live screening
Watch up 15 of Australia's best short films for one night only, including documentaries, comedy, drama, horror, animation and more!

Industry talks
Introducing Poco Talks! An intimate experience where you can hear from some of the best Australian talent talk about their success both in Australia and beyond our shores live on stage!
acclaimed judges
Past judges include:
Mark Molloy (Australian feature film director)
Tracey Rigney (filmmaker / playwright)
Alexei Toliopoulos (Writer / filmmaker / comedian / podcaster / film critic)
and popcorn
Choc Tops too.
Poco's panel of expert judges is carefully chosen to embody the festival's commitment to nurturing exceptional Australian cinema and its creators. Each submission will undergo evaluation from an industry perspective, with emphasis on direction, narrative, performance, and cinematography.
past judges
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MARK MOLLOY
Hailing from Ballarat and now based in LA, Mark is an award-winning Australian director who recently directed “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (2024) for Netflix and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Eddie Murphy, Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon Levitt.

Molloy is also known for his short film series “Apple at Work - The Underdogs,” which has received over 150 million views worldwide and earned him a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials at the 72nd Directors Guild of America Awards.
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Tracey Rigney
Tracey Rigney, a Wotjobaluk and Ngarrindjeri woman from Victoria, is a prolific filmmaker and playwright. She wrote and directed "Rebel Art" for the 2022 Sydney Film Festival. Her credits include directing shorts like "Man Real" and "Abalone," as well as screenwriting for projects such as "Elders" and "The Warriors" TV series.

Rigney has also contributed to theater with plays like "Belonging" and "How Blak R U?". In 2022, she wrote two plays for young audiences: 'Rella' and 'Someone in the Dark'.
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Alexei Toliopoulos
Alexei Toliopoulos is a versatile writer, filmmaker, comedian, podcaster, and film critic.

Known for creating the popular "Finding" series with Cameron James, he's made appearances on TV shows like ABC's "Question Everything" and "The Weekly."

As a passionate film enthusiast, he's respected for his criticism and moderating skills. Currently, he's working on a new comedy docu-series with James.
Hands down, easily the best festival experience I've had in Australia. It's a unique setup, where it's 1 night of talks and 1 night of short films. Perfect curation, amazing guests. Also Ballarat is a suburb worth visiting it you're out of town.
Will S, 2024
Film Freeway
Really great regional festival. The line-up feature many of my favourite Australian shorts on the circuit and many of the filmmakers were in attendance, so it was great to connect. Definitely punching above their weight as a new festival.
Jesse V, 2024
Film Freeway
Poco Film Fest by its programming team, event, awards, incredible jury and curation of new voices in short film craft was, at every touchpoint: highly professional, slick and all about cinema. This festival is the real deal and Victoria is lucky it have it.
Alexandra, 2022
Film Freeway
Just phenomenal. Such a brilliant diversity of Australian short film presented at a stunning venue. So glad we had the opportunity to see Poco!
Tomas, 2022
Google
Wow! Thoroughly enjoyed this event. Looking forward to attending this again! Well done Mass Motion!
Tina, 2022
Google
Unbelievable that we have a film festival of this quality in Ballarat and made by Ballarat people. Here's to the next one. BRAVO!
John, 2022
Google
Fantastic festival that was run perfectly. Great variety of finalists, amazing hospitality and beautiful cinema! Highly recommend
Andrew, 2022
Film Freeway
Questions
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When will Poco return?
Poco is a biennial festival. 2026 dates are to be announced.
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When can I submit my film to Poco 2026?
Entry dates are TBA.
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How can I get involved in the festival?
You can read more by following the link here.