At a glance
- When
- Saturday 21 November 2026: venue opens 6:30pm, show time 7pm, listed duration 2.5 hours
- Where
- Tank 5, Tanks Arts Centre, 46 Collins Avenue, Edge Hill, in the Cairns Botanic Gardens precinct
- Price
- $20 for unreserved seating, including booking fees (as of October 2026)
- Seating
- Unreserved and fully seated
- Parking
- Free parking along Collins Avenue and in the Tank 1 car park, says the council
- Rating
- PG; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult
- Who it’s for
- Anyone who wants to see short films made in North and Far North Queensland and hear the festival’s award winners announced
- What to do now
- Buy a ticket through Ticketlink, the council’s authorised seller, and plan where you will park or how you will get to Edge Hill
- Last checked
- Saturday 31 October 2026, against the Cairns Regional Council festival page, the Ticketlink event page and the Tanks Arts Centre venue pages
- Not yet confirmed
- The list of finalist films and the award categories (neither is on the pages read), and any bus service to Collins Avenue on a Saturday night
The 13th Understory Film Festival Screening and Awards Presentation is on Saturday 21 November 2026 in Tank 5 at the Tanks Arts Centre in Edge Hill, Cairns, with the venue opening at 6:30pm and the show starting at 7pm. Tickets are $20 including booking fees, the seats are unreserved, and the council says free parking is available along Collins Avenue and in the Tank 1 car park. Cairns is in Queensland and stays on Brisbane time all year, so every time below is Australian Eastern Standard Time with no daylight saving.
This guide is built from the Cairns Regional Council’s Understory Film Festival page (last updated 23 October 2026), the Ticketlink event page, the Tanks Arts Centre venue page and the council’s arts venues page, all read on 31 October 2026.
What is the Understory Film Festival awards night?
The council describes Understory as Far North Queensland’s premier short film festival. Its page says filmmakers from Townsville to Cairns, across Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Torres Strait Islands are invited to share their work, and that the festival is open to filmmakers from North and Far North Queensland.
The Ticketlink listing calls the 21 November event the flagship of the 2026 program. The evening shows the 2026 finalist shortlist, which the listing says includes short films from Cairns, Townsville, Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Torres Strait Islands, and then holds a live awards presentation. The listing names the kinds of films in the program as documentaries, dramas, animation, comedy, experimental works and music videos.
The council’s page says the festival is supported by Screen Queensland and the Queensland Government, and by the Regional Arts Development Fund, which it describes as a partnership between the Queensland Government and Cairns Regional Council. It also points people to the festival’s Facebook page for updates. One detail from the previous edition appears on the page: local filmmaker Jannah Dryden, who hosts the festival’s Art vs. Artist vodcast, won Best Film and People’s Choice at Understory 2024 for the film Chesters.
What time does it start, and how long does it run?
Ticketlink gives three times for the night. The council’s festival page gives the whole evening as 6:30pm to 9:30pm, which matches the Ticketlink listing of a 6:30pm opening, a 7pm show time and a duration of 2.5 hours.
| Item | Time on Saturday 21 November | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Venue opens, Box Office opens for ticket collection | 6:30pm | Ticketlink |
| Show time | 7:00pm | Ticketlink |
| Listed duration | 2.5 hours | Ticketlink |
| Evening ends | 9:30pm | Council festival page |
Ticketlink says the Box Office opens at the advertised venue-opening time for ticket collection and enquiries, so tickets can be collected from 6:30pm. The council’s venue table says the bar at Tanks opens 30 minutes before performance times, which for a 7pm show works out at 6:30pm; that time is worked out from the table and is not stated for this event.
How much are tickets, and where do I buy them?
Tickets are $20 for unreserved seating, and Ticketlink says the price includes booking fees. The listing shows tickets on sale now. Ticketlink, which is operated by Cairns Regional Council, describes itself as the only authorised seller for council venues including the Tanks Arts Centre, and warns that tickets from unauthorised channels may mean you are denied entry.
| Ticketlink detail | What it says |
|---|---|
| Price | $20.00 unreserved seating, admit one, booking fees included |
| Seating | Unreserved, fully seated |
| Rating | PG (parental guidance); anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult |
| Companion Card | Accepted |
| Refunds | Generally no right to a refund or exchange except as required by law or the Live Performance Australia Ticketing Code of Practice |
| Phone | 1300 855 835, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm |
| info@ticketlink.com.au |
Ticketlink says it provides an in-person and telephone service, five days a week. The listing gives the seating as unreserved and fully seated.
Where is the Tanks Arts Centre?
The Tanks Arts Centre is at 46 Collins Avenue, Edge Hill. The council says it sits in the Cairns Botanic Gardens precinct, about 4km north of the city’s CBD, and is housed in three converted World War 2 naval oil storage tanks. Tank 5 is the main performance space; the council lists a licensed bar and a capacity of 650 standing or 480 seated. The council’s arts venues page says Tank 3 and Tank 5 are open for events, festivals and performances.
The venue table lists a short uncovered walk for weather cover. The same table lists bicycle racks near the Tank Sixty Four Cafe, and says smoking is allowed only in an outdoor designated area.
Where do I park, and is it free?
The council’s venue page says: “Free car parking is available close to the site along Collins Avenue and in Tank 1 car park (close to railway line and the Sheridan Street entrance to Collins Avenue).” The arts venues page lists the same two options. Neither page gives a number of spaces.
| Parking | What the council says |
|---|---|
| General parking | Free, along Collins Avenue and in the Tank 1 car park |
| Tank 1 car park | Close to the railway line and the Sheridan Street entrance to Collins Avenue |
| Accessible parking | Three bays directly in front of the main entrance (in front of Tank 4); one on Collins Avenue in front of Tank Sixty Four Cafe (the venue table also lists two at the cafe) |
The two council pages differ slightly on the accessible bays at the cafe: the venue page lists one on Collins Avenue in front of Tank Sixty Four Cafe, and the arts venues table lists one on Collins Avenue and two at the cafe.
Is the venue accessible?
The council says the Tanks Arts Centre is fully wheelchair accessible, with compliant graded paths and access points, and that Tank 3 has a compliant graded ramp to enter and exit the venue. Accessible bathrooms are beside Tank 5 and in the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre, the latter subject to opening hours. The venue table adds that a wheelie walker should stay with its user, that a hearing loop using Telecoil software is listed, and that the Companion Card is accepted.
For general venue questions the council lists (07) 4032 6600.
What can I bring, what should I wear, and what is there to eat?
| Question | What the council and Ticketlink say |
|---|---|
| Dress code | Casual, shoes required (Tanks Arts Centre) |
| Cameras | Phone only (Tanks Arts Centre venue table; Ticketlink does not repeat it for this event) |
| Bar | Full bar, listed by Ticketlink; the venue table says it opens 30 minutes before performance times |
| Food | Ticketlink lists Lafa Street under Food; the page does not say what is sold |
| Children | PG rating; under 18s must be accompanied by an adult |
| Smoking | Outdoor designated area only |
Which films are in the program, and who wins?
The pages read for this guide do not list the finalist films or the award categories, and the council’s festival page does not say when the finalists will be named. The Ticketlink listing says the night shows the 2026 finalist shortlist, with a live awards presentation after the screening. The winners are announced at the event, so no result can be reported before 21 November. The festival’s Facebook page, which the council links, is where it says updates will appear.
Who do I contact if something changes?
For tickets, call Ticketlink on 1300 855 835 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, or write to info@ticketlink.com.au. For the venue, the Tanks Arts Centre lists (07) 4032 6600.
Sources
- Cairns Regional Council — Understory Film Festival (last updated 23 October 2026; read 31 October 2026)
- Ticketlink — Understory Film Festival Screening and Awards Presentation 2026 (read 31 October 2026)
- Ticketlink — Tanks Arts Centre (read 31 October 2026)
- Cairns Regional Council — Our arts venues (last updated 24 April 2026)
- Ticketlink — Buying tickets (read 31 October 2026)
- Cairns Regional Council — Annual events (last updated 25 November 2024)
Featured image: Main entrance to the Cairns Botanic Gardens, Edge Hill, May 2018 (photo: Kerry Raymond / CC BY 4.0) (text added)
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with the Understory Film Festival, Cairns Regional Council, the Tanks Arts Centre or Ticketlink. Event details, parking and ticketing can change; check the official pages above.