Kat dos Remedios, an Australian filmmaker, won Best of Show at the Underwater Awards Australasia 2026 for “Dragon,” a short film following weedy seadragons through their breeding season in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. The winners were announced September 5, 2026, at an awards ceremony held during the Go Diving Show ANZ in Sydney, with the competition awarding nearly A$70,000 across nine categories.

What “Dragon” is actually about

The film began as an exploration of the Port Phillip Bay shoreline, with dos Remedios drawn specifically to the weedy seadragon’s unusual appearance and behavior. The project took on added significance because of timing: populations of the same species elsewhere along Australia’s Great Southern Reef had been decimated by a toxic algal bloom, making footage of a still-healthy breeding population genuinely more valuable as a documentary record, not just a nature film. All of the underwater footage was shot on scuba during the 2025 breeding season, meaning the film represents a real, sustained filming commitment across an entire seasonal cycle, not a single lucky encounter.

What a weedy seadragon actually is

Weedy seadragons are closely related to seahorses, native specifically to the southern coast of Australia, and named for the leaf-like fronds covering their bodies that provide camouflage among seaweed and kelp. They’re a genuinely uncommon subject for underwater film, both because of their limited range and because their camouflage makes them difficult to spot and film reliably even for experienced divers, which is part of what made a full breeding-season documentation project a real technical and logistical undertaking.

Why the competition itself matters

The Underwater Awards Australasia is a significant fixture in the underwater imaging world specifically, drawing entries across nine distinct categories covering both still photography and video, with nearly A$70,000 in total prizes at stake this year. “Dragon” won its category outright, the Reels Showcase, before being named Best of Show across the entire competition, meaning it was judged as the single strongest entry against still-photography categories as well, not just against other films.

A full breeding season spent following a camouflaged, slow-moving animal that’s disappearing from parts of its range elsewhere isn’t the kind of project that produces a lucky shot. It’s the kind that requires actually being there, repeatedly, long enough to capture behavior most people never see.

What people get wrong about competitions like this

Winning “Best of Show” isn’t the same as winning a single category. “Dragon” first won its specific category, the Reels Showcase, before being separately judged as the top entry across the entire competition, a higher bar involving direct comparison against photography categories with very different technical demands.

This wasn’t filmed in a controlled or captive setting. The footage was shot on scuba, in open water, during a real breeding season, conditions genuinely harder to work in than an aquarium or a controlled dive tank, and a meaningful part of why the footage carries documentary as well as artistic value.

The conservation angle isn’t incidental to the film’s win. The species’ documented population collapse elsewhere along the Great Southern Reef gives the footage of a healthy Port Phillip Bay population real conservation-record value, not just aesthetic value.

Frequently asked questions

What award did Kat dos Remedios win?

Best of Show at the Underwater Awards Australasia 2026, after “Dragon” first won the Reels Showcase category, announced September 5, 2026, at the Go Diving Show ANZ in Sydney.

What is the film “Dragon” about?

A short film documenting weedy seadragons during their breeding season in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, shot on scuba across the 2025 breeding season.

Why are weedy seadragons significant right now?

Populations elsewhere along Australia’s Great Southern Reef have been decimated by a toxic algal bloom, making documentation of a still-healthy breeding population in Port Phillip Bay a meaningful conservation record.

How much prize money was awarded at the Underwater Awards Australasia 2026?

Nearly A$70,000 across nine categories covering both underwater photography and video.

For more on real conservation and wildlife stories, see Talmyn’s Science & Nature desk.