We saw outstanding young talent and a competitive field of entries. There will be names amongst these finalists we are sure to see in the future. The winning Under 18s Short Film for 2023 was DATE NIGHT, by Annabella Siddell.

The aim was to tell histories of local icons and events, and have filmmakers document the captivating and entertaining tales of parents and grandparents to help preserve them and pass them on. Our winner was Animator Mick Horne with ROCKINGHAM: THE TRILOGY.

It's hard to compare creative story with documentary, but that's what we did with this category and it was highly competitive. In the end it was South Coast Baptist College who took out the title for the second year in a row with, MIRROR ME.

This entertaining category saw two young talents with projects that were impossible to put one ahead of the other. This was reflected in the outcome with our first-ever 'draw'. Our winners were THE BLOB by Michael Fielding, and MOTORVATION by Samar Sandhu.

The winner of this category showed Senior Aboriginal students from Sheoak Grove Primary School produce a version of Australia's National Anthem which acknowledges and respects First Nations People. Congratulations to the Producer/Director Amanda Oliver with your lovely work, FOR WE ARE ONE AND FREE.

This year's winner of the Super Short Film Category was Sally Newman with THE LAST BUS HOME, about an elderly man searching for happiness by finding ways to share it with others.

With five finalists and all strong contenders, our winner of the Open Short Film was LET THE WAVES WASH OVER, by Lily Osabofu, in which a young person, overwhelmed with adulthood, stops by the beach to reminisce and find themself reconnecting with their childhood.

The online voting went across three weeks and it was a nail-biter for Rockingham, with only ``one`` vote in it. The people have spoken and we congratulation Jackson Brown and Sofia Meynell with their documentary, WE NEED TO TALK.

We hope these two young upcoming talents are celebrating their win, as well they should. This award went to Ruby Alviani & Aroha Tuhaka with A SECOND CHANCE.

Congratulations to this popular winner for the Fremantle region, SEE YOU SOON, Directed by Amanda Corrie and Written by Simon Yip.

Remember the name 'Siena Rebelo' as we're confident you'll be hearing more from her in the future. The winner of this award of recognition was Siena Rebelo - MONEY MAN, Directed by Liam Cervenka & Juno Shuno.

Congratulations to Director Jaxon McNee and Director of Cinematography Gabrielle Winsloe for being awarded Best Cinematography for TWISTED LUCK.

Each year RHB Films chooses one talent for whom they see star quality in their work and we believe a name to watch for the future. This year, that award went to Jonathon Copson-Pacal for his wonderfully creative short film BURNOUT.