Emerging actors gave strong performances ranging from the touching and warm coming of age film Bass Girl directed by Susan Thwaites to chilling portrayals in the riveting thriller Last Christmas.

Director Felix Barbalet explored the quiet anguish of depression and anxiety in an honest and at times breath-takingly raw 14-minute film Count Your Fingers.

It follows young actor Chloe Gounreau as a university law student grappling with the silent torment of a depression she finds hard to understand or articulate. It is set against the backdrop of a Christmas season with parties, family gatherings and the protagonist's summer job.

The scenes are at times difficult to watch as the main character, Kate, struggles with persistent thoughts of self-harm but the film closes with a moving scene where she breaks through the communication barriers put up by her depression to open up to her brother.

It is an at times harrowing film but certainly commendable for its honesty and resonant quality in dealing with a very tough subject.

The festival, which used its opening night to screen the Canberra Local category, also turned up some other impressive nuggets including a modern silent film which was assisted by a strong musical score.

The people in the film are silent, not the sound track. The film relies heavily on the minute facial expressions of its lead actors who acquitted themselves admirably in the task, delivering a charming love story about an infatuated window washer and a female traffic controller.

Love wins out in the end and he buys the woman flowers, a silent exchange which is delightfully reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights where he and a blind flower seller pass blooms between one another.

The opening night ended with the unforgettable film Last Christmas directed by Nathan Lovejoy which focused on a man who first appears normal but lonely in his rushed preparations for Christmas Day. The film takes a chilling turn when the camera reveals that his intended dinner partner is woman who has been brutally shackled in his basement.

She participates in dinner in a state of terror and has the audience on edge waiting to see if she will try to make an escape.

She uses a sharp knife from the dinner table to stab her captor when he unexpectedly walks her out the front door. She runs screaming to neighbours across the road.

The final moments of the film were abruptly cut short due to a technical problem but the power of the movie was not lost on anybody.

The International category will be shown today, which is the final day of the festival which is playing at Dendy Cinemas.