Short sharp success

There's a New Zealand short film starring a pint-sized hero doing big things on the world stage.

The Six Dollar Fifty Man, a charming adventure tale following the exploits of 8-year-old Andy who retreats into a make-believe world to deal with playground bullying, has taken out the top prize at short film festival, Flickerfest 2010, in Australia. The win means it qualifies for consideration in the 2011 Oscars.

Written and directed by Wellingtonians Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland, the film has also been selected for the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in the Generation section which is aimed at younger audiences. Two other New Zealand shorts - Redemption (the second short by director Katie Wolfe) and Zero (the latest from writer/director Leo Woodhead) - have also been selected.

Redemption tells the story of two Maori kids trying to find their way through their own personal trials, and Zero (which features actress Emily Barclay from In My Father's Den and Suburban Mayhem) is about a teenager's struggle to detach himself from the influence of his father, who is in prison.

The Six Dollar Fifty Man has also been selected for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the US, and the world's most important short film festival, Clermont-Ferrand in France, both of which are held at the end of this month.