Asia Society, the long-time home base for AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM TODAY, presented and launched the 2017 program in its theater at 725 Park Avenue in New York City on May 16, 2017.

​

Rachel Cooper, Director of Global Performing Arts and Cultural Initiatives at the Asia Society and our host for the evening, introduced the program. Chris Beale, co-producer, dedicated the evening to the memory of our founder, Susan Talbot. Paul Thompson, Associate Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and curator of the evening's program, introduced the films.

 

There was lively discussion and debate about the films afterwards at a reception featuring Australian wines supplied courtesy of the American Australian Association, namely Taltarni Vineyards T Series Chardonnay 2014 and Peter Lehmann 2010 Portrait Shiraz.

 

The 2017 Audience Award at Australian Short Film Today in New York went to Mason Fleming's Deighties, a film about an 86-year old widower nervously venturing into the unfamiliar world of online dating. The film was produced at WA Screen Academy.

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

​

​

​

See our Filmmaker Stories for a description by Mason Fleming on the making of Deighties.

​

​

Photo Gallery

​

In the photos below:

​

First row, left to right: Rachel Cooper; Paul Thompson; Kerry Minchin with the Hon. Nick Minchin, the Australian Consul-General in New York.

Second row: Jill Viola, producer, talking with Australian International Screen Forum's Michael Kelleher; two film makers discuss the films; crowd scene with Anna McCrea of the American Australian Association in the foreground.  

Third row: Four happy film fans; Cristina Cote and Eugenie Thompson; Harris Pacey and Madison Davis, two NYU Tisch School of the Arts students who served as assistant curators of the evening's program.

Bottom row:  Xiuzhi (Charles) Dong (center) with Jordan Ravins and Stefan Nachmann; Anne Fulford (background) and Kathryn Deyell (foreground); Three Guys and a Girl Walk Into a Night of Short Films.

​