Our Best Short Film winner will receive our custom Global Shorts statuette which we ship anywhere in the world, free of charge. The award is manufactured by Society Awards, the same awards company that manufactures the Golden Globe and the Emmy. All winners will receive our Global Shorts Winner laurels in black, white, and gold.
Title: Melbourne Hopak
Runtime: 10 min
Country: Australia
Director: Melanie Anna Moravski Dechnicz
Placement: Award of Merit
Competition: March, 2026
Synopsis: Melbourne Hopak is part of the Lehenda Film series. The origins of Lehenda’s film series can be traced back to the global Covid-19 lockdowns—a time when theatres were dark, stages silent, and traditional forms of cultural expression temporarily out of reach. Faced with the absence of live performance, we turned to film as a new medium to preserve and express our identity as Australian Ukrainians. Our first project emerged from the golden wheat fields of Avoca, Victoria—a quiet yet powerful setting that echoed our connection to land, heritage, and memory. What began as a necessity quickly evolved into something much deeper: a cinematic exploration of who we are, and what it means to carry Ukrainian culture in an Australian landscape. Moved by the response to that initial work, we expanded our vision. We chose to reimagine Hopak, Ukraine’s most iconic and spirited dance, within the urban heart of Melbourne. This contrast between the rural and the metropolitan, between tradition and reinterpretation, became the cornerstone of our approach. These films are not just documents of performance—they are cultural artefacts. They preserve memory, convey identity, and explore the dualities that shape our diasporic experience.