FDW26: Makers Film Festival 2026

Maker & Smith are delighted to present the 2026 edition of the Makers’ Film Festival (MFF26), an international short film programme with a focus on craft – makers, making and materials.

Selected from a worldwide call out, the final set of films includes a wide variety of genres as well as craft practices and materials from fashion to bell-making, embroidered stop animation to ceramics, knitting, ai and green technologies, to name a few.

Programme

PART ONE:

The Sweater Curse
05:00 / knitting
Dir. Miki Wain

Becoming increasingly fed up with her boyfriend, a knitter decides to end the relationship by weaponising The Sweater Curse: a knitting superstition that says gifting a handmade sweater to your partner will cause a breakup.

Bound to the Martuwarra
03:35 / fibre weaving
Dir. Benjamin Loaring

Come along with artist and sculptor Jody Loaring as she returns to a familiar landscape, the Fitzroy River and the coastal town of Derby in northern Western Australia. Listen as she reflects on her resource gathering process at the mouth of the Martuwarra. It illustrates how a road trip in the Kimberley evolves into a deliberate act of gathering.

Portrait of Lee
02:45 / fashion
Dir. Bruce Hunt

A fashion designer and a magpie embark on a surreal journey.

The Head Master
0:05:24 / lion heads
Dir. Lucas Veuve

In a workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, master Siow Ho Phiew has spent decades handcrafting lion heads the traditional way — weaving rattan, layering bamboo paper, and painting each face by hand. As demand for his lion heads grows globally, his greatest ambition remains closer to home: to pass the craft to the next generation and secure lion dance its rightful place in Malaysia's cultural identity.

Bollywood Badmashes Go Bush
04.00 / embroidered stop motion animation
Dir. Susie Vickery & Sultana Shamshi

In a tale of derring-do reminiscent of Bollywood action movies and in the style of an Indian miniature painting, this is the story of Western Australia’s endangered animals reaching out to Bollywood miscreants for help in the face of environmental destruction. An embroidered stop motion animation by Susie Vickery with trees and animal puppets made of Australian native nuts by jeweller Sultana Shamshi.

Constructing Change
05:56 / construction
Dir. Alex Riches

A powerful short documentary spotlighting women and gender-diverse individuals breaking barriers in the world of construction. As they learn hands-on skills and reshape their futures, their personal journeys reveal grit, resilience, and a bold defiance of outdated gender norms. Inspiring and eye-opening, the film challenges the status quo – one hammer swing at a time.

Includes a 20-minute interval.

PART TWO:

Lost Harmonies
12.57 / bell-making
Dir. Sima Gonsai

A poetic exploration of an ancient craft – the traditional art of cattle bell making in Kutch, Northern Gujarat, India. For generations, these handmade bells have been more than just instruments of sound; they are signatures, each carrying a unique tone that allows local farmers to recognise their wandering flocks amidst the vast, untamed landscapes.

Finding You
01:17 / ceramics
Dir. Valerie Schönjahn

Ceramic creatures come to life in this light-hearted adventure which celebrates the big feelings of small things, in a game of hide and seek. Events take an unexpected turn when a discarded tissue also develops its own life force.

The Carers of Everything
10:00 / sculpture, sand art, illustration
Dir. Steven Alyian & Fleur Schell

Inviting us to shift perspective, to honour and prioritise the natural world, now and into the future, this story carries the weight of place: made on and for Ballardong Boodja, it was first projected across two towering grain silos in Goomalling, Western Australia – 80 metres wide and 20 metres high, as the centrepiece of the 2025 BioSPHERE Boodja Arts and Wild Things Festival.

Sam Gold
06:53 / ceramics
Dir. Connor Patterson

Ceramic artist Sam Gold shares the origin of their signature pinch technique. This defining gesture stems from their childhood role as a caregiver to their mother.

Delivering Solar Dryers to Nairai Island: Supporting Weaving Livelihoods
04:08 / weaving

Join us, Dr. John Bennett, and his Dilo Up team as we deliver his innovative solar dryer technology to our partners on Nairai Island, Fiji. These dryers support the drying and processing of pandanus leaves used for weaving – the primary source of income for five villages on the island.

A Song You Can't Write No More
03:59 / sculpture
Dir. Steve Lane

A plea for honesty and truth telling. Documents the creation of an artwork by emerging Melbourne artist Darcy Shilton, inspired by the Murray River.

Vote for your favourite film here: https://forms.gle/hzWV9jtprvRhV1z56