Melbourne, Australia - A young Hervey Bay filmmaker has taken out the top award at the 2026 Australia Youth Film Festival, with winners announced at the Festival’s Award Ceremony in Melbourne last Saturday.

The Best Overall Film was awarded to Breannah Mitchell, from Hervey Bay, for her documentary Corals on Your Doorstep, which shines a light on one of Queensland’s lesser-known marine stories: the ancient inshore coral reefs sitting just metres from an urban coastline.

The documentary follows young Hervey Bay ocean advocate Jasper Stern and his connection to the reefs, while drawing attention to the pressures facing the local marine environment - from limited public awareness and coastal development pressures to water quality, pollution and the broader threat of warming oceans.

Hervey Bay’s 6,500-year-old inshore reefs stretch along the foreshore, forming a coral ecosystem that many locals and visitors may not realise exists so close to shore. Mitchell said she wanted the film to help people see the reefs not as a distant environmental issue, but as something alive, local and urgently worth protecting.

“I was inspired to create this documentary because I am really passionate about raising awareness about our inshore coral reefs in Hervey Bay, as they are the closest coral reefs in Australia to an urban city centre and face many threats,” Mitchell said.

“I am also passionate about youth voices being heard and that their voices do matter when it comes to these issues, as they will be the guardians of our Earth for the future to come.”

Mitchell said meeting Jasper helped her understand how personal reef protection can be for young people growing up beside the ocean.

“When I met Jasper, I loved the passion in his eyes and also his story of how his dad’s legacy lived on after his father had died, just to show that memories of our loved ones are all around us,” Mitchell said.

“Since our advocacy, the Council is now a Reef Guardian Council. The advocacy does not stop there. The more people know about the reefs, learn about them, and understand how they can help, the more people will want to protect them too.”

This year’s Australia Youth Film Festival received a record 1,262 entries from young Australians nationwide, with 74 nominees selected for its main national program.

The Festival’s 2026 signature annual events program was held in Melbourne, including an Industry Day and red carpet Award Ceremony, where winners were announced live.

Festival Director and Founder Ryan Chow said this year’s winners reflected the creativity, ambition and social awareness of young Australian creators.

“This year’s winners show just how much young people across Australia have to say - not only about film, but about the communities, environments, identities and futures they care about,” Chow said.

“From regional Queensland coral reefs and Western Australian farming communities, to women’s safety, and smartphone filmmaking, these works show that young creators are already telling stories with purpose and imagination.”

Chow said the Festival’s growth from 774 entries in 2025 to a record 1,262 entries in 2026 showed the demand for accessible national pathways for young creators.

“The Australia Youth Film Festival is free to enter because we believe young Australians should not need expensive equipment to have their work seen,” Chow said.

“Our role is to help find, celebrate and empower the next generation of Australian storytellers, and to give them meaningful access to industry, audiences and opportunity.”

The other 2026 category winners are as follows.

Best Acting

Passion by Keira O’Connor, Melbourne

Written, directed, produced and performed by O’Connor, Passion explores the emotional fatigue, rejection and sacrifice that can sit behind the pursuit of a creative career.

The short film follows Emma, a young actress chasing success, and reflects the tension between burnout, hope and the love of storytelling that keeps many young artists moving forward.

“Passion was inspired by my real experiences as an actor,” O’Connor said.

“I wanted to shed light on the often unseen side of acting: the rejection, the grind, the struggle, but show why we continue doing it.”

Best Animation

The Runaway Horses by Daien Ngeiw, Melbourne

A stray dog with a fascination for taking the train becomes the centre of The Runaway Horses, a poetic animated story about life, fate and the passions that shape us.

Ngeiw said the film sits at the intersection of her lived experiences and her passions for music, film, dogs and art.

“The film is meant to be a personal tribute to the passions that have defined my life and also to the people who have made it what it is,” Ngeiw said.

Best Cinematography

Where the Rain Goes by Alastair Bruce, Perth

Set in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt, Where the Rain Goes follows farmers, scientists and knowledge brokers searching for new ways to protect water and crops in a changing climate.

The film forms part of Bruce’s Bright Lights documentary series, which aims to translate scientific research into engaging and accessible visual storytelling.

Bruce said he was inspired by the power of online video to help communicate complex ideas to large audiences.

“Growing up in the Southwest of Western Australia, surrounded by farming families, I saw first-hand just how much impact we have on the environment, but also the impact of the hard-working scientists and conservationists who have dedicated their lives to protecting it,” Bruce said.

Best Directing

Is This A Robbery? by Sam Davison, Sydney

Shot as an iPhone one-take film, Is This A Robbery? follows a confident robber whose break-in goes wrong when he discovers the family has already been tied up by another criminal.

Davison said the project was inspired by the challenge of pushing the quality of an iPhone short film while keeping the production small and agile.

“We wanted to shoot a one-take film, something we hadn’t really tried before,” Davison said.

“The one-take goes through a house and a lot of tight spaces, so we really needed the form factor of an iPhone to get that manoeuvrability.”

Best Documentary

Text Me When U Get Home by Jodhi Ramsden-Mavric, Melbourne

Text Me When U Get Home explores the internal dialogue and safety calculations that shape a night out for many women and femme people.

Blending documentary storytelling with a dreamlike cinematic style, the film invites viewers into the quiet rituals of planning, anxiety, euphoria and relief that often sit behind a simple night out.

“This is an experience that ripples through the lives of every femme person I’ve ever known,” Ramsden-Mavric said.

“I hope women watching this can find solace in knowing they’re not alone.”

Best Editing

The Soft Sides of Sound by Morgan Cross, Gold Coast

The Soft Sides of Sound explores the world of ASMR, looking at how the genre can support people experiencing anxiety and insomnia while also examining the challenges faced by creators in the space.

Cross said ASMR had personally helped her relax and sleep for the past decade, inspiring her to explore the community in documentary form.

“This film aims to help fight stigma and misunderstanding around ASMR and raise awareness of this subculture,” Cross said.

The winning entries are available for viewing here

For information, please visit www.auyff.com