Bold move: a vibrant lineup of South Australian short films is taking flight with more than $150,000 in Mercury Quicksilver Production Funding from SAFC.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
News & Events
17 December 2025
After a rigorous and highly competitive submission round, six original short films from 14 diverse South Australian screen talents have been chosen to go into production through The Mercury’s Quicksilver Production Fund. They’ll share in $157,500 in funding plus professional mentoring.
Funded by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC), the Quicksilver Production Fund supports selected teams of emerging and early-career South Australian screen creators to produce a short film and gain access to mentoring, professional script development, production support, filmmaking equipment, and post-production facilities.
This year’s initiative also received additional support from Country Arts SA via the Country Arts Foundation, broadening opportunities for regional and First Nations filmmakers.
The Quicksilver Production Fund has a proven track record of developing local talent and bringing South Australian stories to audiences nationwide and globally.
Notable outcomes from the program include I’m the Most Racist Person I Know (writer/director Leela Varghese, producer Suriyna Sivashanker), which had its world premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas, earlier this year and earned the Special Jury Award. It has since racked up numerous honors, including multiple wins at the 2025 South Australian Screen Awards (Grand Jury Prize, Best in Show at the Boston LGBT Film Festival) and a nomination for the 2026 AACTA Award for Best Short Film.
Dragon’s Breath (writer/director Melanie Easton, producers Lisa Bishop and Poppy Fitzpatrick) won the 2025 AWGIE Award for short film and was selected for Flickerfest, while Finding Jia (writer/director Alice Yang, producer Maisie Fabry) was chosen for SXSW Sydney and claimed both the Flinders University Short Film prize and the Audience Award at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.
The 2025 Quicksilver projects span a wide range of genres and artistic visions, including a genre-bending theatre production adapted for the screen; a live-action First Nations adventure-fantasy set 60,000 years in the past; and an intimate observational documentary exploring the migrant experience through an entirely fresh lens: hoarding.
The six teams chosen for 2025 are: two projects led by majority First Nations creatives—Battle of the Ancestors (writer/director Natasha Wanganeen; producer Isaac Coen Lindsay) and Vermin (writer/director Travis Akbar; producers Sierra Schrader and Travis Akbar); plus Finding Jia (Alice Yang) paired with One Man’s Treasure (producer Stephen de Villiers) from the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival short drama, and Hera (Hannah Moore) connected with the 2025 Hanlon Larsen Screen Fellowship recipient Hera.
Quotes:
The Mercury CEO Sarah Lancaster said: “We’re proud to back an impressive slate that demonstrates bold imagination and the ability to stand out in the competitive short-film landscape. These works continue the national and international success of Quicksilver projects. We’re excited to champion such talented teams and dynamic collaborations, delivering truly original experiences that both challenge and entertain. We’re grateful to the SAFC for ongoing support in championing short films and creating essential opportunities for emerging talent.”
SAFC CEO Kate Crosser added: “The SAFC is proud to continue nurturing emerging South Australian screen creators through our ongoing partnership with The Mercury and funding for the Quicksilver program. Initiatives like Quicksilver are vital for developing the next generation of South Australian storytellers, offering platforms for fresh voices and fostering collaboration across diverse backgrounds. Congratulations to all the creative teams chosen.”
Quicksilver Production Funding Recipients
Astro Gato
Producers: Manuel Ashman and Justina Ashman
Director: Reginald Ashman
Writers: Reginald Ashman and Manuel Ashman
Logline: When an incoming asteroid threatens life on Earth, only a street-racing cat has the skills to save the planet.
Hera
Producer: Jarrah Murphy
Writer/Director: Hannah Moore
Logline: A woman chainsaws a fallen tree in the South Australian bush as she has done many times before—until this time, she chainsaws her own hand clean off.
One Man’s Treasure
Producer: Stephen de Villiers
Writer/Director: Alice Yang
Logline: A Chinese migrant’s dream of a better life becomes buried under the weight of what he cannot throw away.
The Fish Rots from the Head
Producers: Alex O’Neil and Nick Muecke
Writer: Luca Sardelis
Director: Nick Muecke
Logline: Six days before her parents return from holiday, Eugenia discovers she has negligently killed their beloved pet fish. She seeks to explain why the situation unfolded the way it did, and why it wasn’t entirely her fault.
First Nations and Regional Grants
Battle of the Ancestors
Producers: Natasha Wanganeen and Isaac Coen Lindsay
Writer/Director: Natasha Wanganeen
Logline: Two Aboriginal sisters, separated for decades to safeguard their people, reunite for a mythic journey across ancient Australia. They must embrace their celestial origins and ancestral wisdom to confront a dark force threatening to erase their culture, family, and the land.
Vermin
Producers: Sierra Schrader and Travis Akbar
Writer/Director: Travis Akbar
Logline: Aboriginal ranger Jarrah treks deep into remote Country to check motion cameras, only to uncover footage of a murder and confront a deadly encounter with the killer, Reg.
If you’re curious about how these projects might influence regional voices or the Australian short-film scene at large, what aspect do you find most compelling: the emphasis on First Nations perspectives, the focus on genre-bending storytelling, or the emphasis on documentary-style social issues? Share your take in the comments.
