Shortwave x Red Room Poetry: Short Films

3 September 2025

Cinema

A short film showcase celebrating poetry on screen

Australia | 2025 | Short Films | Unclassifed 15+

Celebrating National Poetry Month, Shortwave x Red Room Poetry is an evening of new and recent short films, curated in collaboration to celebrate the diversity, breadth, and breath of contemporary poetry beyond the page in search of the ambient light.

The session will include the premiere of the new Shortwave commission Poetry by Design by Australian South Sudanese poet and creative activist Nyaluak Leth, bookended by short films from a compelling coterie of Australasianian poets including Omar Musa, Jazz Money, Vidya Rajan, Mohamed Hassan, Luka Lesson, Tenzin Choegyal, Eloise Grills, Sara Mansour, Ian McBryde, Dominic Hoey, Eileen Chong, Koraly Dimitriadis, Candy Royalle and hybrid live performances by Mohammad Awad and Kirli Saunders.

Shortwave is an annual commissioning program from Sydney Opera House, which invites Australian artists to explore their relationship with the screen. Since 2021, Shortwave has commissioned over twenty short films, each centred on the interplay between art, performance and screen, showcasing radical, innovative and experimental approaches to filmmaking.

For the 2025-2026 Shortwave season, Sydney Opera House will collaborate with organisations from across the Australian independent arts sector to both commission films, and to curate special screenings of short films in the Playhouse. Each screening will feature the premiere of a new Shortwave commission alongside a selection of short films, highlighting the ways in which a new breed of Australian artists is reimagining their creative relationship with the screen.

Presented by Sydney Opera House and Red Room Poetry

Event details

Dates and times

Ticket pricing

Ticket	Price
Standard	$10

No booking fee applies for this event.

Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection.

The Ticket + Drink entitles a patron to one standard entry to the film screening plus one drink. Drink options include one glass of house red or white wine, prosecco, house beer or soft drink. Red wine must be consumed prior to entering the theatre.

Redeem your drink prior to the film start time. The voucher must be redeemed on the same day as the film screening date displayed on your ticket. The drink voucher is only redeemable at the bar located in the Sydney Opera House Western Foyers. For further information please contact the Box Office: +61 2 9250 7777.

Alcoholic beverages are subject to the NSW Responsible Service of Alcohol Act.

The only authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.

On-sale information

Accessibility

Warnings

Program

An Evening Melody by Tenzin Choegyal

Bikes (Live) by Mohammad Awad

Bones by Luka Lesson

Crush by Jazz Money

Customs: A Love Story by Mohammad Hassan

Every Morning I Am Reborn by Eloise Grills

Fuck Batman by Omar Musa

I Can’t Light a Fire by Dominic Hoey

Killing Us Softly by Candy Royalle

Mediterranean Madness by Koraly Dimitridis

My Australia by Sara Monsour

Poetry by Design by Nyaluak Leth

Spree by Ian McBryde

Wallflowers and Evergreens (Live) by Kirli Saunders

What is Poem? (Part 1) by Vidya Rajan

About the artists

Red Room Poetry

Red Room Poetry (RR) is Australia's leading organisation for commissioning, creating, publishing and promoting poetry in meaningful ways.

Reflecting the diversity of Australian voices, RR commissions and publishes poetry of all styles and stages (page/ performance/ spoken word/ experimental/ digital/ musical/ visual) and produces major annual projects such as Poetry Month. We develop creative and critical contexts where poetry is explored across languages, landscapes and mediums in and beyond literary communities to make Australian poetry and creative expression widely accessible.

Nyaluak Leth

As a creative activist, NMMWL (Nyaluak Leth) has built a practice rooted in transformation - using poetry as a vessel for truth, reclamation, and change. Born in South Sudan and raised in Australia, they channel lived experience into verses that move between protest, prayer, and presence. Their work explores the complexities of identity, ancestral memory, social justice, and human connection - often blurring the line between performance and ritual.

Through a multidisciplinary lens, NMMWL creates immersive poetic experiences that combine movement, music, voice, and visual art. Their performances are emotionally charged and spiritually grounded, offering space for reflection and radical honesty.

Nyaluak’s SHORTWAVE commission Poetry by Design is a cinematic self-portrait that weaves memory, voice, and intention, following a multidisciplinary poet through a reflective narration of her journey of becoming. The film is directed, written and performed by Nyaluak, in collaboration with Creative Producer Alessandro Zotti and Director of Photography Marcus Sternecker.