Sydney talks a lot. So, for one night this November, we’re asking everyone to shoosh. Shooshfest is back for its third year, bringing together filmmakers, performers, creative types, film lovers and people who simply enjoy being told to be quiet for an evening dedicated to the art of saying absolutely nothing. Australia’s only silent short film competition returns on Thursday 5 November, challenging filmmakers to make audiences laugh, cry, squirm, think or quietly wonder what on earth did I just watch?, without their characters uttering a single word. No dialogue. No monologues. No conveniently overheard conversations that explain the entire plot. Just very good filmmaking. And possibly some very aggressive eyebrow acting.
“The idea behind Shooshfest has always been incredibly simple: take away the talking and see what happens,” Rebecca Zemunik, Co-founder of Shooshfest commented. “Three years in, people are still finding completely unexpected ways to make us laugh, cry and occasionally wonder what on earth we just watched. We love that. There are already plenty of places in Sydney where people can talk. Shooshfest doesn’t need to be another one.”
This year, filmmakers are competing across four awards: the coveted Golden Finger for Best Overall Film, Best Storytelling, Best Performance and The Shooshiest, celebrating the strange, unexpected and boundary-pushing filmmaking that simply couldn’t win an award called anything else. Choosing the winners will be an appropriately noisy collection of Australian creative talent: filmmaker Nash Edgerton, actor Kate Beahan, and comedy and directing duo Vic Zerbst and Jenna Owen. Nash Edgerton knows a thing or two about telling stories visually, with directing credits including The Square, Gringo, Mr Inbetween and a collection of acclaimed short films. Meanwhile, Vic Zerbst and Jenna Owen, aka Freudian Nip, bring their distinctive comedic sensibility to the judging table.
Together, they’ve been entrusted with a very serious responsibility: Deciding who is best at shutting up. Shooshfest culminates in its annual screening and awards party on Thursday 5 November from 6.30pm, where Sydney audiences will discover just how much can be said without saying anything at all. Guests are invited to dress for “the world’s quietest red carpet”, with the official event promising glamour, creativity, prizes and a great party. There will even be limited-edition Shoosh 2026 T-shirts designed by Kris Andrew Small and hats designed by Micke Lindebergh, because apparently even silence needs merch. So come for the films. Stay for the party. Dress up. Have a drink. Just, for the love of cinema, don’t talk during the movies. More information.