Footy Shorts
PRESENTED BY FED SQUARE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AND THE AFL, SUPPORTED BY VICSCREEN
After their premiere at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival, these five short documentaries centring Australia’s game will light up the Big Screen after the Grand Final screening.
Stick around after the final siren on Grand Final day to catch Footy Shorts on the Big Screen.
Five filmmakers have created authentic, emotionally resonant stories that capture the deep love, traditions, myths and connections people share through Australian Rules football, as players, fans, families or communities – showing how the game, across its many different forms, unites and shapes Australian life.
Dir. Angela How / 2026 / 15 mins
A tribute to the resilience, camaraderie and cultural significance of Chinese Australians in football.
A community’s efforts to belong see a group of young Chinese Australian men come together and play their national game of Aussie Rules with true-blue passion and gusto.
Dir. Mitchell Withers / 2026 / 15 mins
For his sons, he came out. For himself, he plays again. Mitch Brown, Australia’s first openly queer ex-AFL player, steps back onto the field, bringing his whole self for the first time.
Dir. David Callow, Mark Thomson / 2026 / 15 mins
Invincible Spirit explores the immense strength of a club that must be everything to its people.
In the heart of the Goulburn Murray, the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club stands as a modern-day fortress of Yorta Yorta pride, a sanctuary of cultural healing where a community fights not just for points, but for the safety and dignity of its children.
Dir. Akec Makur Chuot, Meg Duncan / 2026 / 15 mins
Australians call it footy, but Akec and her community call it kura.
Former AFLW player Akec Makur Chuot traces a path from her heroes to the new generation of African Australian stars navigating two worlds to find belonging.
Dir. Jasper Caverly, Andrew Goode / 2026 / 14 mins
Meet the dedicated fans barracking for the AFL’s hardest team to love. Members of the North Melbourne Football Club Cheer Squad prepare to face longstanding rivals Essendon: a club they haven’t beaten in a decade.