Little Big Shots 2017

ACMI and Little Big Shots present Australia's largest and longest running film festival curated especially for kids ages 2 to 12. Held over five days across the Queen's Birthday long weekend, Little Big Shots runs from Thursday 8 June to Monday 12 June.

An experience unlike any other, Little Big Shots brings together the best short films for kids from Australia and across the globe, including films from Jordan, Taiwan, Norway, Japan, Hungary, USA, UK, South Korea and The Netherlands. Engendering a love of film among even the youngest cinema goers, ACMI and Little Big Shots are enhancing the media literacy and creativity of the next generation with offerings spanning animation, live-action and documentary. This year's program features 82 films from 20 countries, as well as boasting 10 world premieres and 40 Australian premieres.

'Little Big Shots is a highlight of ACMI's year-round programming for children and families, complementing our popular Screen Worlds exhibition and monthly Family Sundays series. I'm delighted that we can showcase films made by, and for, kids," says ACMI CEO and Director, Katrina Sedgwick.

Festival Director, Ben Laden says 'This year's Little Big Shots is full of surprises, spills and thrills. The whole family will be delighted by this wonderful collection of shorts from award winners to quirky kid-made films. I can't wait to introduce the next generation of film lovers and makers to the best kids' movies of the year."

This year's highlights include Best of the Fest: a program packed with blockbusters and exceptional short films as chosen by the Little Big Shots Kids' Jury; and a very special red carpet event for kids on Thursday 8 June. 2017 sees the addition of the inaugural Audience Award, as voted by kids and parents.   

Elsewhere in the program fans of Adventure Time will love Bad Jubies by director Kirsten Lepore, who brings Finn and his friends to life in beautiful claymation. Stick Man, based on the writing of much-loved children's author Julia Donaldson and from the creative team at Magic Light Studios, features the voice of Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Office) as Stick Man and narration by Jennifer Saunders.

Little Big Shots features 27 films made by Australian filmmakers including Junction by Nathan Jurevicius, the critically acclaimed The Orchestra by Mikey Hill, The Supermarket by award-winning director Stuart O'Rourke, and Today? by first-time South Australian director Heather Maggs.

Celebrating emerging Australian talent, this year's festival showcases 23 films made by kids, including The Professor, a mysterious live-action by quirky brothers Ryan and James Twemlow, Monday a thoughtful animation from 17-year-old director Shanon McKenzie and Journey by 17-year-old Radheya Jegatheva, which sees stock images from NASA come to life in vivid animation.

As part of the festival, ACMI will hold Family Virtual Reality Creation on Sunday 11 June, a special 2 hour virtual reality workshop where kids and families can create fantastic worlds they can explore together in real time.