We acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners of lands across Australia, their Elders, Ancestors, cultures and heritage, and recognise the continuing sovereignties of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.

We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which the ACTF is based and pay our respect to their Elders past and present.

We are honoured to have the opportunity to learn from the oldest cultural storytellers in the world and seek to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners to share their rich culture and perspectives with children in Australia and around the world via stories on screen.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or text.

Trop Jr Finalist Films 2014

15 films by under 15s have been chosen as finalists to screen at the Trop Jr event on 7 December 2014.

The 15 finalist films were selected from more than 300 entries. Excitingly this year six of the finalist films have been produced by previous Trop Jr entrants, which is a Trop Jr record!

Among the talent is 14-year-old filmmaker Ben McCarthy from NSW who took out the top prize in Feburary 2013 for his short film Bumper.

The inspiration behind his latest flick, One Cranky Seagull, was to tell a tale about bullying, without using the word bullying.

“We’re thrilled to see a number of returning entrants,” said Michael Laverty, Tropfest managing Director.

“It’s a privilege to witness the talents and skills that these kids are developing year after year.”

The youngest finalist of the competition is 11-year-old Jonah Vetticad from Queensland who said he felt as though he was “dreaming” when he found out he was a finalist with his film I Can See You.

Also from Queensland is 15-year-old Jobe Adams.

Jobe's film Buloo was crafted with a crew of classmates at the remote school of Baralaba, part of the Aboriginal community of Woorabinda.

Buloo tells the tale of his own grandfather, who fought for decades to keep his native culture alive.

For the full list of finalists and their films visit the Trop Jr website.

The Trop Jr event and Tropfest festival will be held on 7 December in Centennial Park, Sydney from 11am with live satellite links to outdoor locations in Melbourne and Canberra.

The ACTF is a proud sponsor and presenting partner of Trop Jr.