And if Oliver Levi-Malouf's film Magic Man is successful at the Flickerfest short film festival at Bondi Beach in January, he can partly thank his catering team – namely production manager Mum – for keeping the volunteer cast and crew happy.

"It was minus two on one of the nights so the only way we could get them to stay was with pizza and industrial gas heaters," he said with a smile.

The two-time finalist in Tropfest Jr, 16, said he hoped his film, which told the story of a man plagued by the guilt of his younger brother's death, would get people thinking.

"One day a series of events push him and push him until he's driven almost to the edge and considers taking his own life ... until a magical homeless man brings him back with a special kind of magic," Oliver said.

"Whether it is all in his mind or is actually real – that's one of the things I tried to leave the audience questioning."

The Daramalan College student said he had the idea for the film – which he has entered into about a dozen film festivals around the world – in January as he pondered the moments of unnoticed beauty in life.

"What if someone was so hurt and injured that they were able to notice things that no one else could, as if they were in a state of hyper-awareness or psychological turmoil?" he said.

"People have these experiences that shift them from absolute grief and loss to acceptance of this."

His fellow Daramalan students Kassidy Young, 17, Mikayla Brady, 14, and Melissa Hawke, 16, all aspiring dancers, braved the cold in July to take part in filming around Canberra, including at the Australian National University and in parts of the city.

Mikayla said the girls enjoyed their non-speaking parts as "guardian angels".

"It's like a little insight into Oliver's brain really – it was such a privilege to be a part of it," she said.

Magic Man is one of 19 films in the under-18 FlickerUp section of Flickerfest which screen from 2pm on January 17 at the Bondi Beach indoor theatre.