Mark and Louis with The Six Dollar Fifty Man

Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland's short film The Six Dollar Fifty Man has taken out the top prize at Flickerfest 2010 19th International Short Film Festival in Australia which qualifies the film for consideration for the 2011 Academy® Awards.

The film has won the 'Cooper Award' for 'Best Short Film' at the International Film Festival which is based in Bondi Beach, Sydney. Flickerfest 2010 received a record 1500 entries in its 19th year as Australasia's only Academy® Award accredited Short Film festival.

This award follows The Six Dollar Fifty Man's recent selections for the upcoming Berlin and Sundance film festivals as well as the world's most important short film festival in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The film has gone from strength to strength after having its world premiere and later gaining 'Special Distinction' at Festival de Cannes in France in May 2009.

Written and directed by Wellingtonians Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland and produced by Wendy Cuthbert, The Six Dollar Fifty Man tells the story of a gutsy 8-year-old boy who retreats into a make believe world to deal with playground bullying.

The 15 minute short won a slate of awards at the 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards, which included: Best Short Film, Best Performance in a Short Film and Best Screenplay for a Short Film. It also won the 'Black Pearl Award 09' for 'Best Narrative Short' at the Middle East International Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates and Best Short Fiction Film in the official competition of Expresion En Corto International Film Festival in Mexico.

The Six Dollar Fifty Man was made with finance from the Short Film Fund of the NZ Film Commission. International sales are handled by NZ Film, which is the sales arm of the NZFC.

Flickerfest 2010 19th International Film Festival took place from 8th - 18th January. For more information visit www.flickerfest.com.au