The Kook: A Short Film Taking Home Big Awards

The Kook is a short film made on a small budget that's taking the US independent film festivals by storm (and walking away with all the awards too). Already given the Official Selection title at a number of festivals, including Austin, New Orleans, Riverrun and Slamdance, the film is set to screen at several others in the US and Europe too.

The film's story follows Fa, a gentle and unassuming member of an eccentric religious sect, as she inadvertently discovers an unsettling truth about the cult's leader. It's a dark comedy that plays with the realisation that everything Fa has ever believed in is fake, but it's not just The Kook's universal themes of truth and deception that has won audiences over. Although the cult's yellow jogging suits and dark bowl-cut hairdos probably make a lasting impression for many of the film's audiences, it's an 18-minute film that feels like nod to '80s soft-focus cinematography and the creation of a kooky world that's, worryingly, not too unlike our own.

Actress T. Sahara Meer, who plays the naive Fa, recently received an award for best actress at a comedy festival in LA and, just a few days ago, the film's directors - New Yorkers Gregory Mitnick and Nat Livingston Johnson - took home the Audience Award at LES Film Festival in Manhattan.

It looks like it'll be a big year for this little film. Now we just need to convince them to show it off down under.