REELZ Student Film Festival

Attention YoungFilmmakers!🎬

HOTA Education is excited to launch our new Student Film Festival, REELZ.

Are you a creative student with a passion for filmmaking?

Are you a creative student with a passion for filmmaking? Don’t miss your chance to shine at the REELZ Student Film Festival! This exciting event invites Gold Coast students in Years 7-12 to showcase their finished Media Arts and Film, Television & New Media short films on the big screen at HOTA. Whether you are a budding director, storyteller, or editor, this is your opportunity to gain exposure and recognition in the world of film.

Submit your work, connect with other young creatives, and let your talent take centre screen.

For further information please contact hotaeducation@experiencegoldcoast.com

Submission Details

Who can apply:

Gold Coast and Northern Rivers students in Years 7 to 12 studying Media Arts, Film, Television and New Media, or Visual Arts are eligible to apply. Students are required to obtain approval from their subject teacher for their film submission and must have the teacher complete the registration process on their behalf, as students are not permitted to submit films independently.

Film Categories:

Students can create films in any genre or stimulus that aligns with curriculum aligned assessment requirements.

Film submissions can be submitted in the following formats:

MP4, MOV, MPEG, DCP, or 1080p h.264 QuickTime

Students are invited to submit films in the following categories:

• Visionaries (Years 7–8): Films up to 2 minutes in length
• Storytellers (Years 9–10): Films up to 3 minutes in length
• Masters (Years 11–12): Films up to 5 minutes in length

Review Panel:

Jo San Martin
Shorts Programmer – Gold Coast Film Festival

Ivan Vukusic
Awards and Industry Development Manager | Australian Film Institute (AFI) | Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA)

Scott Piper
Sound Department | Actor | Education Business Specialist – Officeworks

Prizes:

As a prize donated by the Gold Coast Film Festival, a 15-minute segment will be featured at the 2026 festival, showcasing the best narrative student film(s) from REELZ in the "Emerge" event. The successful films will be announced during the REELZ screening on Monday, November 24th, 2025.

Key Dates:

• Application open: Tuesday 22 April 2025
• Applications close: Friday 10th October 2025
• Successfulapplicants notified: Thursday 30th October 2025
• Tickets on sale to public: Monday 3rd November 2025

Inclusions:

All successful student applicants will receive one complimentary reserved seat for themselves at the film festival screening.