Following its Flickerfest debut, AMOK heads to the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival, celebrating stories that blend humour, heart, and humanity.
Adelaide, South Australia —
After making its national premiere at Flickerfest earlier this year, South Australian short film AMOK continues its impressive festival journey with selection for the Heart of Gold International Short Film Festival, where stories that “see the good in the world” take centre stage.
Written and directed by Kahli Gaskin, AMOK is a bold Rom-Thrill-Com — a genre-bending exploration of love, chaos, and the absurd moments that hold relationships together. The nine-minute short, produced by E. Bennett Walsh (Kill Bill, The Kite Runner) and Isabelle Scott (Unsolved Cases), follows a couple whose disastrous anniversary dinner spirals into something far stranger — and more revealing.
For Gaskin, the Heart of Gold selection reflects the film’s deeper intent.
“AMOK was always about love in its most uncomfortable form — the bits we don’t often talk about,” says Gaskin. “It’s wonderful to see it recognised at a festival that values honesty and heart just as much as craft.”
Shot entirely in South Australia with an all-local cast and crew, AMOK stars Brittany Gallasch, Alexander Lloyd, and Kori Hayes, with cinematography by Jules Wurm, and editing by Andrew Shanks. Its tone — both playful and unsettling — captures the delicate balance between love’s humour and vulnerability.
“Heart of Gold is such a fitting home for AMOK,” adds Producer Isabelle Scott. “It’s a reminder that stories with humour and heart — no matter how strange — connect deeply when they come from a place of truth.”
As AMOK continues its festival run, Sunup Workshop is already building on this momentum, developing its debut feature film and expanding its footprint within the national screen landscape. The short’s growing recognition across multiple festivals reaffirms what South Australian filmmakers do best — crafting bold, emotionally resonant stories that find the universal in the local.
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