JIFF Short Film Fund

The Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) and the Jewish Australian Screen Fund (JASF) are thrilled to announce an expanded return of the JIFF Short Film Fund for 2025. 

The Short Film Fund was established by JIFF in 2017 to provide funding to Australian filmmakers for the creation of a Jewish-themed short. This year, JIFF is partnering with the recently established JASF on the biggest grant pool in its history, with a total of $30,000 on offer.

“JIFF is proud to be a catalyst of the challenging and magical film creation process", said JIFF Artistic Director Eddie Tamir. "We welcome the partnership with the talented Jamie Bialkower and the JASF which will serve to catapult the short film fund to greater heights and become a major contributor to Australian film culture.” 

This year's funding will exclusively support narrative projects that address any aspect of the post-October 7 landscape for Australian Jewry. Director of JASF, Jamie Bialkower, points to the challenges of the current climate as a creative opportunity for filmmakers to explore. “We want this year’s applicants to offer an artistic response to the events we have lived through over the past 16 months, illuminating our shared experience in whatever shape or form this theme is interpreted.” 

JASF was established by Jamie Bialkower in 2024 as part of his Jump Street Films label. JASF was initiated due to the lack of Jewish narratives being financed in Australia, the lack of support that Jewish artists are receiving at structural and institutional levels, and to counter antisemitism through representation of Jewish stories on screen. Funding will exclusively go towards stories that advance of the depiction of Jewish Australians on screen, by Jewish Australian creatives, with emphasis on authenticity and visibility. 

Winners will be announced on Friday April 4, with delivery required in September for a JIFF 2025 premiere.

Applications are now closed.