St Kilda Film Festival 2026 Opens with Gala Night at Iconic Palais Theatre

On 4 June, the Palais Theatre will roll out a red carpet on the St Kilda foreshore for the Opening Night Gala of the 2026 St Kilda Film Festival – Australia’s largest and longest-running short film festival. The night will screen a curated collection of Australian shorts spanning documentary, comedy, drama and horror, before the crowd moves to St Kilda Town Hall for the official after-party.

This year’s festival, running until 14 June, clocks in as its biggest ever. Almost 200 short films were selected from a record number of submissions, all of them qualifying for Academy Awards consideration. The program packs in emerging and diverse voices, headlined by a special Made in Victoria session supported by VicScreen and a $10,000 Best Short Film prize.

Festival director Richard Sowada can already feel the energy. “The 2026 St Kilda Film Festival program celebrates the talent, diversity, and cinematic ambition of Australian filmmakers,” he said.

Filmmakers who have been through the festival know the buzz is real. Michael Becker, who attended a previous edition, described a festival that ran on sheer momentum. “I had a blast at St Kilda this year. I was there from opening to closing, saw heaps of amazing shorts, met a lot of great people and loved the vibe of the whole festival. Great hospitality by all the staff and volunteers.”

The feedback on FilmFreeway is just as sharp: “Great festival with enthusiastic audience!” That community enthusiasm is what turns a short film screening into an industry landmark.

Tickets for the Opening Night Gala are $35, and the after-party pass is an additional $25. Regular festival sessions cost $17.50. The Palais is cashless with fully reserved seating, and bars will be open throughout the evening serving food, snacks and ice creams. Organisers stress that tickets should only be bought through Ticketmaster or the official Palais website to avoid unauthorised resellers.

With the Opening Night Gala expected to sell strongly, the advice is to treat it the same way you would a major cinema premiere: book early and arrive on time. The festival gives Melburnians a rare chance to catch almost 200 Australian shorts in one concentrated run, and the Gala’s mix of a historic theatre and an after-party with filmmakers makes for a far sharper experience than a standard session.

Getting to St Kilda is easiest by tram. Routes 96 and 16 stop near the Palais on Fitzroy Street or at St Kilda Beach. St Kilda Station on the Sandringham line is about a 600-metre walk. Street parking is limited, and event-time restrictions are likely around the theatre and town hall, so public transport is the surest bet.

Before the screening, Fitzroy Street and the foreshore promenade offer a tight run of restaurants and bars for a pre-show meal. St Kilda’s June calendar also includes winter markets and live music venues within easy walking distance, so an evening at the Palais can easily stretch into a longer night on the bay.

The full program schedule and additional session details will land shortly. The Opening Night Gala is the festival’s flagship moment, but from 4–14 June, the real treasure is the sheer volume of Australian short-form storytelling on offer right across the suburb.