Anthony Bennett is the driving force behind the New Plymouth Short Film Festival.       An award winning filmmaker, electronic composer and actor with a lifelong love of the arts and running events. Anthony has been the Taranaki Regional Manager of the 48 Hour Film Competition for several years and was runner up at the last Tropfest NZ film festival, held in New Plymouth.

Anthony has entered over 200 film festivals worldwide via FilmFreeway and is very excited about using the platform to launch a new film festival in his hometown.

"At this year's 48 Hour Film heats in New Plymouth the vibe was electric. I realised I had been here ten years, arriving the same year the iconic Len Lye Centre opened. I pitched an idea to the crowd about doing our own film festival. The response from the filmmakers was overhelming. This is me delivering on that promise. Something we've talked about for years, so the time is right to get it done and just do it. Oh and there is more to come...watch this space!"