2026 SPARK Short Film Screening

Four filmmakers. Four original stories. One unforgettable night of Northern Territory cinema. SPARK 2026. WHAT: Join us for the red-carpet 2026 SPARK Short Film Screenings, an unforgettable evening celebrating Northern Territory storytelling on the big screen. Presented by Screen Territory, SPARK is the Northern Territory's flagship short film initiative providing our local filmmakers with the opportunity to bring bold new stories to life. This year's screening showcases four original short films, each created and filmed in the Territory, and now premiering on the VMAX screen at Event Cinemas Palmerston. Funded by Screen Territory, the 2026 program has been delivered with the additional support of Panavision, Kojo, Trackdown, the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), and Sydney Acting Studio. The initiative is further supported by award winning Executive Producer Rachel Clements (Brindle Films) and acclaimed Australian showrunner Greg Haddrick (Broadstory) serving as Development Mentor. TIMINGS: Red Carpet from 1830hrs Film Screening from 1915hrs Event Wrap est. 2100hrs THE FILMS: "LATCH" (Indicative rating M) Leo is a city hit man out of his depth on an outback cattle station road, with a body in the boot and his sleeve caught in the latch, when Sue , a Parks ranger, stops to help. Over the dry heat and drier humour, LATCH plays their encounter as a slow-burn dark comedy, set squarely in the NT outback. WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Bridget May DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Dylan River CAST: Pedrea Jackson, Trisha Morton-Thomas "HARDCASE" (Indicative rating MA) When a young ex-scientist fleeing her own invention jumps into a taxi with a very reluctant, sharp-witted indigenous driver hiding a deadly secret, they are forced into a brutal standoff with mercenaries determined to reclaim their missing assets. WRITER & DIRECTOR: Ethan Grahek PRODUCERS: Ethan Grahek, Bridget May & Connor Manzie DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Tor Burns CAST: Kamahi King, Amelia Aberasturi, Mark Mulders, Angus Pickering, Caleb Schatz, Mike Duncan, Tara Meertens, Jeff Usher, Ethan Grahek "WITH YOU" (Indicative rating PG) A teenage girl, unseen by her overwhelmed parents in the moment she most needs them, comes apart on a remote Northern Territory road — and must find her own way back, alone, from deep in the bush. WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Laurens Goud CO-WRITER/PRODUCER: Phil Tarl Denson DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Jayden Moyle CAST: Claudia Wyles, Georgina Haig, Josh Mapleston "THE LONG DROP" (Indicative rating PG) Set against the vast, indifferent beauty of the Central Australian outback, The Long Drop is a grounded comedy about dignity, friendship, and the strange situations life drops us into and the unexpected insight that can emerge when we find ourselves stuck at rock bottom. WRITER/DIRECTOR: Penelope McDonald PRODUCERS: Penelope McDonald and Samantha Alexis Laughton DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Dylan River CAST: Madeleine Madden, Emily Taheny, Daniel Milne, Briar Marriott-Milne, Penelope McDonald