Australian filmmaker Radheya Jegatheva’s animated short Trading Cards has been selected for SXSW London, one of only ten films worldwide chosen for the festival’s prestigious Short Film Competition. The selection places the film in contention for one of the event’s top honours when it screens between June 1–6.
Following its world premiere at Flickerfest in Sydney, where it won the Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animated Short Film, Trading Cards has travelled the international festival circuit with selections at seven additional Academy Award-qualifying events, including Hong Kong, Florida, Dallas, Los Angeles, Zagreb, Tokyo and Slovakia.
The film, which explores memory, connection and the invisible threads that link moments together, continues Radheya’s growing reputation as a distinctive voice in animation. His career began as a teenager when his debut short Journey won Best Film at the Port Shorts Film Festival, ahead of a submission from Oscar-winning director Patrick Osborne. Since then, his work has been selected for more than 50 Oscar-qualifying festivals worldwide.
“I’m incredibly honoured to have my work screening as part of SXSW London,” Radheya said. “Trading Cards is a film I’ve poured a lot of myself into, and to have it recognised like this is really wonderful.”
Producer Jay Jay Jegathesan, who lives in Perth and narrates the film, described the project as deeply personal. “Watching Trading Cards, I feel like I’m seeing Radheya’s inner world translated into form,” he said. “It’s his most personal film, and being part of it as his father makes it even more meaningful.”
SXSW London extends the globally recognised Austin festival into a European context, bringing together film, music and technology in a celebration of creativity and innovation. For Trading Cards, the cards are on the table — and fate will decide the rest.
