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Sydney Film Festival Announces Full Program

Historic lineup unveiled, featuring returning Sydney Film Prize winners and spectacular new voices from Australia and around the world – including 19 films direct from Cannes.

Announcements
Wed 6 May 2026

A historic lineup

The 73rd Sydney Film Festival program was officially launched today by Festival Director Nashen Moodley, including 19 films direct from the Cannes Film Festival, among them Andrey Zvyagintsev’s long-awaited return Minotaur; Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales, starring Isabelle Huppert; Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve; Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland, starring Sandra Hüller; Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love, starring Rami Malek; and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Sheep in the Box.

Sheep in the Box

<p>Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton appear in The Invite by Olivia Wilde, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo c/o The Invite</p>

The Invite

Other SFF program highlights include Olivia Wilde directing herself, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in the Sundance comedy The Invite; Jane Schoenbrun’s psychosexual horror Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson; Australian horror sensation Leviticus from Adrian Chiarella; and Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer in The Death of Robin Hood.

“Art and cinema help us make sense of the world, take us into the lives of people far away from us, and remind us to remain vigilant about our own rights and freedoms. And we can't forget, they're also an enormous source of joy.”
Nashen Moodley, Sydney Film Festival Director

Leviticus

“Once again Nashen Moodley and the team have curated the best films in the world for what will be another incredible Sydney Film Festival experience. ”
Minster for the arts, john graham

In 2026, the Festival will present 248 films from 81 countries including 19 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres and 140 Australian Premieres, with screenings at the State Theatre, Sydney Opera House and cinemas across the city.

Official competition

Guest
Ben’Imana
Direct from Cannes Un Certain Regard, this emotionally powerful exploration of a reconciliation process following the Rwandan genocide is set to be one of the year's most acclaimed debuts.
Guest
Dao
A swirling epic, Dao is a life-affirming journey into a wedding and memorial ceremony, across Guinea-Bissau and France, reality and fiction, and a world of love, sadness and joy.
The Dreamed Adventure
Valeska Grisebach's (Western) Cannes Competition contender is a mysterious and intoxicating journey following a woman on a mission in the rough Bulgarian borderlands.
Selling Fast
Fatherland
Paweł Pawlikowski (Ida; Cold War, SFF 2018) returns with this sensational snapshot of writer Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) in post-war Germany. Cannes Competition.
Selling Fast
Fjord
Internationally acclaimed director Cristian Mungiu returns with his English-language debut, a thought-provoking family drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.
Gentle Monster
An incredible Léa Seydoux stars in Corsage director Marie Kreutzer's gripping, emotionally charged study of a wife and mother forced to confront the unthinkable. Cannes Competition.
Selling Fast
The Invite
Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton exchange barbs, flirtations and truths in this hit Sundance dinner party dramedy, directed by Wilde (Booksmart, SFF 2019).
Selling Fast
Guest
Leviticus
In this bold, breakout Sundance hit from Australian Adrian Chiarella, two teenage boys contend with an evil force that takes on the form of the person they desire most: each other.
Selling Fast
Minotaur
The much-anticipated new film by Russian master Andrey Zvyagintsev is a brave, taut and explosive thriller that brilliantly melds the personal and the political. Direct from the Cannes Competition.
Guest
No Good Men
In this sparkling political romantic comedy from Afghanistan, a camerawoman disillusioned with love is surprised to find herself drawn to the country's leading journalist.
Parallel Tales
Asghar Farhadi delivers a layered, complex drama about a writer using surveillance for inspiration, with an all-star French cast of Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Cassel and Catherine Deneuve. Cannes Competition.
Shame and Money
Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Visar Morina's deeply humane drama follows a Kosovar family who lose their livelihood and must rebuild from scratch.
Sheep in the Box
Direct from the Cannes Competition, Kore-eda Hirokazu's (Shoplifters, SFF 2018; Monster, SFF 2023) Sheep in the Box is a moving drama about bereft parents turning to AI to rebuild their family.

Sydney Film Festival runs from 3-14 June 2026. Tickets and FlexiPasses to Sydney Film Festival 2026 are on sale now.

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Aboriginal FlagTorres Strait Flag

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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