A celebration of local talent, local stories, and our beautiful region with a diverse programme of shorts from recent years by Otago and Southland creatives.

The philosophy of Little Cinema is an open and inclusive showcase where the work of students, hobbyists and pros alike is celebrated without competitiveness. This initiative gives filmmakers the fantastic opportunity to put their work on the big screen, and invites audiences to experience our region through the eyes of the people who live and create here.

Little Cinema’s first season under SFC’s guardianship kicked off November 2025!

See more about the first season of films below…

NEW DATE: Fri 30th January
due to a power cut, our Wanaka event was postponed

Sold out

INVERCARGILL - coming early 2026!

Have a film you’d like to screen?

Little Cinema is open to narrative, documentary films or music videos under 15 minutes by a director, producer or writer living in, or who is closely connected to, Otago or Southland, and completed within the last 2 years. 

Little Cinema is not a competitive film festival, but a grassroots screening celebrating local filmmakers of all levels. We will however need to make selections of films for the screening's program should there be too many entered. 

Stay tuned for future opportunities and we’d love to hear from you if your have a major local short film ready for public release in 2026! Email: KiaOra@SouthernFilmmakers.nz