Neville Hiatt’s Popcorn Love Named Finalist in 2026 Focus on Ability Short Film Festival
Live-Action Short to Screen at Red Carpet Awards Day in Sydney
I’m so excited to share with you that my first live-action short film, Popcorn Love, has been selected as a finalist in the Australian Open Category of the 2026 Focus on Ability Short Film Festival. The film will screen at the festival’s Red Carpet Awards Day in Sydney on Sunday October 18th.
Awards on the day will be presented by film and television stars Lynne McGranger, John Jarratt, Ada Nicodemou and James Stewart, alongside Paralympian Christie Dawes and Focus on Ability ambassador Paula Duncan.
While most romance films chase the spark, Popcorn Love celebrates the fire that lasts a lifetime. Shot freehand to create a home movies feel and shot on a phone to accommodate Neville’s physical limitations. Unlike most films Popcorn Love was shot in chronological order, and in a single day using the natural light to aid the story arc. The tender five-minute short spans 50 years in the lives of Daniel and Hayley played by Joel and Rachel. It follows their meeting, a heartfelt proposal, wedding vows, moments of heartbreak, playful pillow fights and date nights that never grow old — even as their hair turns grey.
Inspired by a heartwarming song by NHAF and brought to life by an all-Australian cast and crew in East Gippsland, Victoria, the film proves that the most beautiful love stories are not the fictional tales on our screens. They are being written in local parks, ordinary homes, and in the quiet daily choice to stay, no matter who else walks by. With love tattooed in their hearts, the only way their story would end would be in the back of a hearse.
This marks Hiatt’s fourth consecutive year being selected in the Focus on Ability Festival. He hopes to improve on last year’s achievements, when his stop-motion animation F.O.A. placed in the judges’ top five, won a NOVA Employment Australian Choice Award and was screened on SBS.
Hiatt says “I knew we’d captured something special when I was putting the first edit together.”
“To have others connect with my first foray into live action feels surreal.”
“Featuring two untrained actors in the lead roles has made this experience even more memorable.”
Popcorn Love has also been submitted to the 2026 Blue Heeler Film Festival, whose theme this year is “Treasure.” Notification of semi-finalists is expected before the end of the month.