Film Program | Shortwave x Soft Centre

Curated in collaboration with Soft Centre, an artist-led platform which activates experimental and interdisciplinary works across sound, digital media, performance, installation, and hybrid practice.

Shortwave x Soft Centre will include the premiere of the new Shortwave commission by Passive Kneeling titled Echo Sleep, along with a program of films curated by Soft Centre.

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 2026 Shortwave season, Sydney Opera House is collaborating 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.