Short Films at Misty Flicks 2025
This year, 20 short films have been officially selected for the Misty Flicks screen.
From heartfelt to haunting, playful to provocative, these shorts celebrate the diversity of voices, genres, and perspectives in Aotearoa filmmaking. They’re proof that powerful storytelling doesn’t need long run times – just vision, courage, and creativity.
After Dark - short film showcase
The festival opens with the After Dark showcase on Friday, 31 October. It’s a bold collection of stories that set the tone for the weekend ahead.
ALIEN WEAPNARY – Mau Moko
Directed by: Jermaine Leef
The music video for “Mau Moko” by Alien Weaponry is a powerful visual statement about cultural identity and reclaiming indigenous pride. Set against a backdrop of striking imagery, the video weaves historical symbolism with modern defiance, celebrating the Māori tradition of Tā Moko—the sacred art of facial tattooing.
Baring our Souls
Directed by: Daniel Leo Max
This documentary explores the transformative journey of Pete Aldrich, an artist who, after spiralling into the depths of despair, finds solace and purpose through the creation of art. Beginning in 2000, Pete's narrative takes us from a moment of profound vulnerability atop a tree in England to a path of self-discovery and healing in New Zealand. The film delves into Pete's struggles with mental health, the impact of electric shock therapy, and his relentless quest to redefine himself beyond the shadows of his past.
Befana
Directed by Cameron Madams, Alfio Leotta
When an Italian folktale threatens her reality, a mother fights to protect her child from an ancient witch.
Code Deimos
Directed by: Kas Kerrigan
A rescue operative enters an abandoned sci-fi facility to find a missing scientist. He discovers her wounded, but their escape is quickly cut short. As a monstrous threat closes in, he makes a final stand, leaving the scientist to watch in horror.
Devil in the Gat
Directed by: Taniora Heketanga Ormsby
Desperate for his big break, an aspiring musician discovers a forgotten country singer at a nightclub who may hold the key to his dreams—but the answers come with a dark price.
Faces
Directed by: Thomas Fink-Jensen
In the aftermath of The Great War, a young soldier battles nightmares while coming to terms with his new face. This film was made in honour of Thomas’ Great-Grandfather Tom Edmondson, of the Royal Artillery, and his son Peter. As well as Harold Gillies, a surgical genius who saved as many men as he could.
Good Kunst
Directed by: Phillida Perry
When a group of Kiwi women bring their hard-won art collection to auction, long-held bonds are tested as the true value of friendship, ambition, and art are put under the hammer.
Little Buddy
Directed by: Prashanth Gunasekaran'
Krish and Sean once shared a life, a home, and a child — Eli. Their marriage unravelled, ending in a bitter divorce. When Eli passed away, grief left them divided. Years later, Krish remains consumed by bitterness and denial, blind to how his own solitude stands in the way of healing.
Traffic
Directed by: Adam Scholz
A disaffected man on the verge of leaping from an Auckland bridge has his solitary crisis upended by an absurdly chipper petitioner's surreal intervention, forcing him to confront the overwhelming chaos of modern life.
Afternoon Delight – short film showcase
The second short film showcase brings together a fresh mix of voices and stories from across Aotearoa. Spanning genres, themes, and perspectives, these shorts highlight the creativity and diversity of our filmmaking community. Expect stories that will surprise, move, and stay with you long after the credits roll.
Baigun Baigun
Directed by: Reneel Singh
Baigun Baigun is a bold, bilingual music video that blends Fijian Hindi and English to celebrate the spirit of Westernized Desis with humor, flair, and unapologetic swag. With catchy beats, cheeky lyrics, and sharp visuals, this vibrant piece flips the script on traditional expectations
Bodies of Water
Directed by: Shelley Waddams
Bodies of Water explores both the light and the dark of mother/daughter relationship, exploring how the person who brought you into the world can be the source of both deep love, and deep hurt.
Bond
Directed by: James Robertson
Two families caught in the Wellington hosing crisis collide, an unlikely bond is formed between the youngest child of each family.
Breaking the Mould
Directed by: Phillida Perry
A visceral glimpse into the life and work of acclaimed New Zealand artist Jaime Jenkins whose unconventional upbringing combines with the elements to inform her ceramic explorations.
Dimsdale Homeowners Association
Directed by Izzy Eggers
In this mockumentary, tensions run high at the Dimsdale Homeowners Association meeting as two feuding co-chairs—including a textbook Karen—struggle to control the chaos over pressing suburban crises: skidmarks and bees.
PleasureDora
Directed by: Mark Prebble
A glitchy AI love companion from the 'semi-mature' range and her lonely final customer confront mortality, second chances, and life on the scrap heap.
Repeat
Directed by: Tū Māia Curtis
Repeat follows two young women as their friendship unravels. Female friendships can feel like love stories intimate, consuming, and devastating when they end. Told in four non-linear scenes, the film traces the emotional arc of their friendship through the lens of the romance genre: falling in love, being in love, falling out, and letting go. A story about heartbreak that isn’t romantic.
Small City: Rise The Wicked
Directed by: Aaron Christiansen
The Band Rise the Wicked perform their single Small City, on screens positioned through a cardboard city, their angst and frustration build until we reach a fiery climax!
The Box
Directed by Ashley Pitman
Two Police Officers must lie in wait to ambush their target, however their mission isn't exactly what it seems.
The Starling’s Commute
Directed by: Caaide Josef Moyle
Common Starlings' take to the sky to rest safely overnight on an offshore island as the sun sets on the small city of New Plymouth . A study of the face of modern Aotearoa New Zealand and the ecological landscape it now holds.
Tomorrow
By Christopher Lambert
Middle-aged Marcus feels he is a failure in everything he does. However, one night, while failing in an attempt to end his life, he encounters a mysterious woman in a bar that will change his life forever.