Oscar magnet Flickerfest takes its proud traditions on the road as film festivals adorn the Australian summer Bronwyn Kidd is the Festival Director of Flickerfest, a short film festival at Bondi Pavilion amphitheatre. AUSTRALIANS love a good outdoor event, and cinema is no exception with a number of popular film festivals setting up screens under the stars during the summer months. Sydney is home to a fair few, among them the St George OpenAir Cinema at Mrs Macquarie's Chair (January 10-February 15), Moonlight Cinema in Centennial Park (until January 31) and Sunset Cinema in North Sydney (January 16-March 9). Flickerfest 2014, which plays in the amphitheatre ­behind the Bondi Pavilion in January, will also tour to 50 ­venues nationally. The 20 NSW venues include Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Narrabri and Gunnedah. Now in its 23rd year and its 18th at Bondi Beach, Flickerfest is Australia's only Academy-accredited short film festival, meaning the winners of the Best Film, Best Australian Short Film and Best Animation awards are eligible to enter the Oscars. More than 30 Flickerfest winners have been nominated or won Oscars since the festival was accredited in 2002. Flickerfest began at Balmain High School in 1991. I was actually there funnily enough. I had entered my own film but it didn't get in," Flickerfest director Bronwyn Kidd says. It got into Tropfest the same year. When she became director 17 years ago there were 200 entries. This year there were 2200, which took months to view and assess, with 107 selected for competition. Flickerfest 2014 has International, Australian and Documentary categories as well as GreenFlicks for films with an environmental theme, FlickerUp for high school and primary school students, and a showcase of 2013 Academy Award-nominated and winning shorts called From the Oscars. "It really is a broad mix across the 10 days and that's what the festival is about, bringing people of all different interests and age groups along to see these incredible short films from across the world and here at home," Kidd says. Highlights of the 2014 program include Nick Waterman's Vote Yes starring Miranda Tapsell (The Sapphires) and Mirrah Foulkes, set in 1967 during Australia's referendum on Aboriginal rights. From the UK comes Mat Kirkby's The Phone Call starring Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent in which a woman working in a London crisis centre receives a life-changing phone call. Esteban Crespo directs a Spanish drama called That Wasn't Me about child soldiers in Sierra Leone, Danny DeVito stars in a US short called Today's the Day while David Wenham and Hugo Weaving co-star in a comedy short by Christopher Stollery called No Budget that is all about low-budget films. Flickerfest alumni include Wayne Blair (The Sapphires), David Michod (Animal Kingdom), Cate Shortland (Somersault), Warwick Thornton (Samson & Delilah) and Kriv Stenders (Red Dog). "To celebrate the amazing talent we have in the short film world is exciting," Kidd says. Flickerfest 2014, Bondi Pavilion, January 10-19. Info: flickerfest.com.au