Grounded - Vista Foundation 48Hours National Winner 2025
The Vista Foundation 48Hours is New Zealand’s biggest guerrilla filmmaking competition and in 2025 over 450 teams competed nationwide to create a short film in just one weekend.
Awards and Nominations
2025 National Champion
Winner for Best Animation (Wellington)
Wellington City Finalist (Regional Top 15)
Winner of Audience Favourite (Wellington heat #4)
One of 10 Winners for the Letterboxd48 Poster Competition
Nominated for Best Animation (Grand Finals)
Nominated for Best Solo/Duo (Grand Finals)
Nominated for Best Director (Wellington)
Nominated for Best Production Design (Wellington)
Nominated for Best Editing (Wellington)
Nominated for Best Sound Design (Wellington)
About the competition
In 2025, there were 545 teams register for the competition and 469 eligible films submitted. Nationwide there were 178 School teams and 81 Tertiary Teams involved, with 41 teams giving the solo/duo a go!
This year we combined smaller areas from across the country into one mega region - Across Aotearoa. This gave teams an opportunity to compete in a larger pool of competitors, comparable to the Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch Regions.
There were 48 online and in-person heats screenings across the country gathering together filmmakers from each region. We had 51 judges who dedicated their time and their industry experience to the competition.
The 2025 National Judging Panel features an extraordinary lineup of filmmakers, actors, and producers from New Zealand and around the world, including: Sir Peter Jackson, Dame Gaylene Preston, Elijah Wood, Mette-Marie Kongsved, Tim White, Jess Hong, Jasmin McSweeney, Dean Hewison, Sophie Cherry, Nikki Si’ulepa, Peter Salmon, Morgana O’Reilly, and Kathryn Graham.
Credits
Director / Animator / Co-Writer: Chris CallusEditor / Sound Designer / Co-Writer: Adam Reynolds
Team: Positive Barry
Press
︎︎︎ Flicks: Highlights from the VF48Hours finals, including this year’s Grand Champ︎︎︎ The Post: Positive Barry wins 48Hours with animated standout
︎︎︎ Q&A with Positive Barry
︎︎︎ Couple's short film about friendship and anxiety wins national film award ︎︎︎ Wellington’s Vibrant Animation Sector
Updates and Festivals
Since winning the competition, we've added more polish to the film with new backgrounds, visual effects and enhanced sound design. We're currently trying out luck at film festivals around the world, and will share the new version of the film online once that journey is complete.
Annecy International Film Festival 2026
Annecy, France
In Competition: Young Audiences
Tribeca Festival 2026
New York, USA
Shorts: Whoopi's Wonderful World of Animation
Vista Foundation 48Hours 2025
New Zealand
Grand Champion
BAMKids Film Festival 2026
Brooklyn, New York
Program: Courage in Motion (Ages 6—8)
ZLÍN Film Festival 2026
Zlín, Czech Republic
Animation Screenings Film Festival Striped Tale 2026
Tbilisi, Georgia
Golden Kuker-Sofia 17th International Animation Film Festival
Sofia, Bulgaria
Program: Short film made for kids
Annecy International Film Festival 2026
Annecy, France
In Competition: Young Audiences
Tribeca Festival 2026
New York, USA
Shorts: Whoopi's Wonderful World of Animation
Vista Foundation 48Hours 2025
New Zealand
Grand Champion
BAMKids Film Festival 2026
Brooklyn, New York
Program: Courage in Motion (Ages 6—8)
ZLÍN Film Festival 2026
Zlín, Czech Republic
Animation Screenings Film Festival Striped Tale 2026
Tbilisi, Georgia
Golden Kuker-Sofia 17th International Animation Film Festival
Sofia, Bulgaria
Program: Short film made for kids
Here’s a little preview of the new and improved film!
