The line-up has been unveiled for Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2017, New Zealand’s premier international short film festival.

The selection includes 55 top short films from Aotearoa and around the world. This is the largest number of short films included in the 12-year history of the festival. It’s an indication of the challenging task the programmers had in choosing from almost 2,000 submissions, and of the great selection of shorts on offer to Kiwis.

There are 35 short films making their New Zealand debut, and five making their world premiere. These include Kiwi short film icon Grant Lahood’s comedy Sybil's Psychic Hotline, roadside drama Motel by Lauren Porteous, Miryam Jacobi’s quirky bus-stop romance Do You Like Me Like This?, Baby? by Mark Prebble and Zinzan by Ben Walton.

The countries represented in this year’s programme are Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Islamic Republic of Iran, Latvia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, UK and USA.

Seven Canadian short films will be presented in a special Québec Focus section of the 2017 programme. Two of these filmmakers, Arianne Louis-Seize and Alexandre Dostie, are attending the festival as guests who will take part in workshops and other events. The delegation of Canadians also includes programmer Vanessa-Tatjana Beerli, cinematographer Shawn Pavlin, marketing strategist Max-Antoine Guérin, and writer/director Stéphane E. Roy, who will present a masterclass.

Show Me Shorts is an Oscar-accredited film festival, meaning the winners of the top two awards, Best New Zealand Film and Best International Film, will become qualified to enter the Academy Awards.

Ten prizes will be given out at the launch of the festival on Saturday 28 October at Auckland’s The Civic. Wellington Opening Night will follow on Thursday 9 November at The Embassy.

With more than 25 cinema locations across the country, from Kaitaia to Stewart Island, there are ample opportunities to get friends and family together and enjoy the range of films and events on offer.

Full dates and locations are available HERE.