New England Regional Film Festival (NERFF)
The New England Regional Film Festival (NERFF) is a community-led film festival celebrating regional storytelling, emerging creatives and independent filmmaking across New England NSW.
Curated by local filmmakers Daniel Elliott, Grace Bowman and Mike Terry, NERFF invites regional and rural filmmakers to showcase their work as part of a three-hour screening event on the opening night of the Creative Streets Festival.
Transforming a space in Armidale’s City Mall into a pop-up cinema and creative gathering place, the festival encourages connection through film, shared cultural experiences and community participation.
Audience members will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite films through a People’s Choice Award.
The fESTIVAL dIRECTORS
dANIEL ELLIOT
Daniel Elliott is a multidisciplinary artist from the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, currently residing in the New England region. His work is driven by a fascination with the mundane, the weird, and the past.
After wrapping up high school in the early 2000’s Daniel immediately found himself falling into the world of the advertising industry, this took him on a journey over the following decades, working around Australia, and as far away as Canada, working on projects for the likes of Coca-Cola, Google and Netflix.
After returning to Australia in 2017, Daniel made the choice to leave the big cities and big brands behind him in favor of smaller and more intimate projects where he could exert more creative control and experiment more with different media formats such as video and photography.
With a great love of the tactile presentation of media from the 70s and 80s, both animated and live action, Daniel strives to bring a level of grit and imperfection to his work you don’t often find in the increasingly clean digital media landscape, with the belief that hand crafted imperfection has more value now than ever.
Animator, Photographer, and Filmmaker
Grace bowman
Grace Bowman is an Australian writer, director and producer passionate about championing character-driven, female-led screen stories and authentic representations of rural and regional communities. She is the founder of Gallop Productions and serves as the Regional NSW Representative for Women in Film & Television Australia (WIFT Australia), where she advocates for greater access, industry connections and creative opportunities for regional screen practitioners.
Selected for the 2025 Screenworks New Kids on the Block initiative, Grace graduated from the University of New England in 2024 with a Bachelor of Media and Communications (Media & Culture).
Her short film Her-story won Best Storytelling at the 2020 Bell Shakespeare Shorts Film Festival. Most recently, Grace wrote, directed and produced Cigarette Fingertips, a rural coming-of-age short film shot on Gostwyck Station near Armidale. The film has been officially selected for the Far South Film Festival, Sweeping Plains Film Festival and the Nightpiece Film Festival as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Alongside her filmmaking practice, Grace develops projects across film, television and digital media focused on regional voices, place-based storytelling and complex female characters. She also works across events, communications and social media.
Filmmaker, Events & Social Media Coordinator
Mike Is A Photographer And Visual Anthropologist Based In The New England Region Of New South Wales, Australia.
He Earned A B.A. In Mass Communication From The University Of Utah In 2010 And Was Awarded A Fine Art, Music, Architecture And Dance Graduate Scholarship From The German Academic Exchange Service (Daad) In 2011 Through Which He Earned A Masters In Visual And Media Anthropology At The Freie Universität Berlin.
Since 2014 He Has Lectured At The Freie Universität Berlin And The Hochschule Für Medien, Kommunikation Und Wirtschaft In Berlin Where He Developed The Masters Course 'Space & Place'. From 2017-18 He Taught Reportage And Portrait Photography At The F16 Schule Für Fotografie In Berlin.
Before Relocating To Australia In 2020, He Worked As A Visual & Online Producer For The Studio Of Filmmaker Yulia Mahr And Classical Composer Max Richter In The United Kingdom.
Mike Works As A Photographer And Filmmaker For Commercial And Editorial Clients Internationally.
Filmmaker & Photographer
Mike Terry
FAQs
What type of works are eligible?
We welcome films, music videos, animations, performance recordings and other screen-based works under 20 minutes in length.
Submissions should be created by creators based in regional Australia. Works exploring regional and rural Australian stories, themes or issues are also encouraged.
What if my film is longer than 20 min?
All submissions must be made through our FilmFreeway page.
If you experience any issues with your submission, please contact us at nerfilmfestival@gmail.com. If your film is selected, we will request a download link for screening purposes.
What if my film is longer than 15 minutes?
Priority will be given to works that meet the 15-minute duration limit. However, slightly longer films are still welcome to apply and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Does it cost money to submit?
No. Submission is completely free.
What do selected filmmakers receive?
Officially selected films, including the recipient of the Audience Choice Award, will receive digital laurels and festival logo.
Where will the screening take place?
NERFF is presented in partnership with the Creative Streets Festival, produced by Armidale Regional Council. Selected films will be screened at the Imperial Hotel, Armidale, during the Creative Streets Festival on 17 October.