Rock The Boat Film Festival 2025

2025 Awards Night

A red carpet celebration of Western Australian filmmaking, and the short films and filmmakers who took home awards.

2025 Awards Night
2025 Awards Night
2025 Awards Night
The Winners

Main Category Winners

These awards were judged by our independent jury from the film and arts industry.

2025 Open Short Film finalists on stage at Rock The Boat Film Festival
Open Short Film Under 15 Minutes

IN THE LOOP

by George Butterworth

An incredibly competitive field with an enormous number of entries. This year we had eight outstanding finalists, but there can be only one winner.

🏆 2025 Category Winner
Rescue Super Short Film winner trophy at Rock The Boat Film Festival 2025
Super Short Film Under 3 Minutes

RESCUE

by Craig Clitheroe

Time is a precious resource, and in this category you don’t have much of it to grab people’s attention and convey an impactful message. Our winner did just that.

🏆 2025 Category Winner
Adele Chai accepting the Student Short Film award for Sweet On You
Student Short Film Under 10 Minutes

SWEET ON YOU

by Adele Chai

Another highly competitive and wonderfully diverse category, featuring students from high schools and universities. We had six finalists on the night.

🏆 2025 Category Winner
Craig Clitheroe with the Super Short Film award at Rock The Boat Film Festival 2025
Open Documentary Under 10 Minutes

FOOD IS FREE: START YOUR JOURNEY

by Craig Clitheroe

This category celebrates filmmakers who take real stories and bring them to life in powerful, creative, and thought-provoking ways.

🏆 2025 Category Winner
Awards of Recognition

Celebrating Craft

Outstanding work across a range of disciplines, recognised on the night.

Best Visual Effects winner — TORN APART
Best Visual Effects

TORN APART

Ryan Svirac

Even with minimal budgets, thoughtful use of visual effects can go a long way in helping tell a story.

Best Production Design winner — THE CANARY
Best Production Design

THE CANARY

Emilie Lowe

Just as important as who’s on screen is what surrounds them, and how it helps flesh out the world of a film.

Best Cinematography winner — TORN APART
Best Cinematography

TORN APART

Ryan Svirac

For the second year in a row, we congratulate the outstanding cinematography work of Ryan Svirac.

Best Performance winner — INTERVIEW (dir. Giles Chan)
Best Performance

INTERVIEW (dir. Giles Chan)

Nicoletta Dimas

2025 introduced an award for Best Performance, won by the star of INTERVIEW.

Best Music Video: People’s Choice winner — LA ECHOLALIA
Best Music Video: People’s Choice

LA ECHOLALIA

Matteo Mazzella

The festival audience chose their favourite and best music video through rank-choice voting.

Rising Star Award winner — THE KID
Rising Star Award

THE KID

Lachlan Roberts

Awarded each year to one emerging filmmaker for the spark of creative potential and the promise of something special.

Voted By You

People’s Choice Awards

Across four unforgettable screening sessions, our audiences cast their votes for the films that moved them most.

People’s Choice: Opening Night winner — VALLEY OF THE FIGS
People’s Choice: Opening Night

VALLEY OF THE FIGS

Chelan Cuevas
11 September
People’s Choice: Family Fun Day winner — FOOD IS FREE: START YOUR JOURNEY
People’s Choice: Family Fun Day

FOOD IS FREE: START YOUR JOURNEY

Craig Clitheroe
14 September
People’s Choice: Mystery & Mind Games winner — FISTFUL OF GLASS
People’s Choice: Mystery & Mind Games

FISTFUL OF GLASS

Luke Botha
Session screening
People’s Choice: Fright Night winner — FOUND YOU
People’s Choice: Fright Night

FOUND YOU

Samantha Hart & Alisa Grace Wilson
Final night
The Night in Pictures

Awards Night Gallery

Red carpet arrivals, trophies, and celebrations from the 2025 Awards Night.

We acknowledge the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which our office stands. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and community. We pay our respects to their cultures, and to Elders past, present, and emerging. We extend this respect to all Indigenous language groups.