The winners of the 72nd Sydney Film Festival

The Sydney Film Festival tonight awarded the prestigious Sydney Film Prize to Jafar Panahi’s IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT.

The winner of the $60,000 cash prize for ‘audacious, cutting-edge and courageous’ film was selected by a prestigious international jury headed by Australian

The announcement was made at the State Theatre ahead of the Australian Premiere screening of Cannes hit SPLITSVILLE. In a joint statement, the jury stated:

“It has been an honour and a privilege to watch cinema for the past 10 days. To be amongst audiences who love and guard this powerful expression, are champions for experiences which are transforming and transcendent.

To Nashen and the Sydney Film Festival team thank you for inviting us to be part of what has been an enormously successful festival.

We want to acknowledge the powerful and assured first time films within competition. There were many and we were astonished by their confidence, authenticity and swagger. This new wave of international filmmakers are pushing the boundaries and connecting to cinema in original ways. It is there perspective which moved us and opened our hearts to stories which felt deeply personal and true. There was a push towards testing the form, taking real risk to find new ways to challenge cinema.

In these times of great conflict and uncertainty it is more important than ever that filmmakers are given the freedom to express what they see around them. The films we watched led with empathy, compassion and kindness. The directors trusted that their stories would make us feel first, connect to a personal point of view, they were political but human first.

The winner of the Sydney Film Festival for 2025 embodied all these qualities, a courageous film with a deep soul and a powerful sense of forgiveness. It has outstanding performances and an understated authority which is brimming with truth.”

The Festival Jury was comprised of Australian Director Justin Kurzel as Jury President, joined by New Zealand actor/director Rachel House, producer and Marrakech Film Festival Director Melita Toscan Du Plantier, Australian actor/writer Thomas Weatherall, and Hong Kong based film distributor Winnie Tsang.

Previous winners: There’s Still Tomorrow (2024), The Mother of All Lies (2023); Close (2022); There Is No Evil (2021); Parasite (2019); The Heiresses (2018); On Body and Soul (2017); Aquarius (2016); Arabian Nights (2015); Two Days, One Night (2014); Only God Forgives (2013); Alps (2012); A Separation (2011); Heartbeats (2010); Bronson (2009); and Hunger (2008).

The competition is endorsed by FIAPF, the regulating body for international film festivals, and is judged by a jury of five international and Australian filmmakers and industry professionals.

The $20,000 Documentary Australia Award, proudly supported by Documentary Australia was awarded to Songs Inside. The Jury comprising of Paul Clarke, Camilla Mazzaferro and Visakesa Chandrasekaram, said in a joint statement:

“The winner of the SFF Best Documentary is Songs Inside – a portrayal of how, even in the most unlikely of circumstances, music can unexpectedly lift the hope and the lives of people. The film was so intimate and rewarding, we cared so much for its incarcerated characters, it completely touched our hearts.”

Previous winners: Welcome To Babel (2024), Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) (2023); Keep Stepping (2022); I’m Wanita (2021); Descent (2020); She Who Must Be Obeyed  Loved (2019); Ghosthunter (2018); The Pink House (2017); In the Shadow of the Hill (2016); Only the Dead (2015); 35 Letters (2014); Buckskin (2013); Killing Anna (2012); Life in Movement (2011); and The Snowman (2010). In 2009 the inaugural prize was shared between Contact and A Good Man, and each film received a $10,000 cash prize.

The First Nations Award, proudly supported by Truant Pictures, is the world largest cash prize in global Indigenous filmmaking, rewarding $35,000 to the winning First Nations filmmaker.

The winner of the First Nations Award Wilfred Buck.

The Jury comprising of Jub Clerc, Mitchell Stanley and Nishtha Jain, said in a joint statement:

“The jury has selected a film that exemplifies Indigenous wisdom and excellence through the life of an Cree elder and educator Wilfred Buck. The jury commends filmmaker Lisa Jackson’s craft in telling the story that seamlessly weaves the past and present, archives with, documentary and recreations, to tell a story about healing generational trauma through wisdom and knowledge of the stars. A mesmerising and insightful film filled with poetry, and quiet humour that warms our hearts while transporting us to another realm of possibilities and experience.”

Previous winners: First Horse (2024).

The 2025 recipient of the Sustainable Future Award was presented to the documentary Floodland.

The Jury comprising of Amanda Maple Brown, Director Karl Malakunas and Dr Jennifer Matthews, said in a joint statement:

“Gripping, compelling, personal and informative. Floodlands takes the audience on a journey filled with beauty, plot twists and heartbreak as it follows lifelong mates battling floods, bureaucracy and the generational legacy of white settlers’ decisions in a once-idyllic part of Australia that has rapidly become a climate crisis ground zero.”

The Award is presented to a film that explores the social, economic, political, and environmental consequences of climate change and highlights the urgent need for action to mitigate its effects.

Previous winners: Black Snow (2024), Against the Tide (2023), Delikado (2022), Burning (2021)

A jury composed of Sophie Somerville, Anderson Lee and Ismal Khan judged the Festival’s short film awards.

The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films were awarded to Faceless, directed by Fraser Pemberton and William Jaka (Best Live Action Short), The Fling, directed by Jemma Cotter (Yoram Gross Animation Award), Rory Pearson, director of Mates (Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Australian Director), Josh Peters, Music and Sound Design of Faceless (AFTRS Craft Award for Best Practitioner), and Rory Pearson, and Marcus Aldred-Traynor, then screenwriters of Mates (Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award for Screenwriting).

The Jury provided the following statements for each prize:

Best Live Action Short:
FACELESS directed by Fraser Pemberton and William Jaka
“For its narrative fearlessness, strong point of view, and water to sky motifs, FACELESS confronts the white, urban spaces of contemporary Australia”

AFTRS Craft Award:
FACELESS — Josh Peters (Music & Sound Design)
“The sound design is the invisible glue that brings all the elements together; deliberate and nuanced and expertly crafted, becoming the spine of a truly cinematic experience.”

The Yoram Gross Animation Award:
THE FLING directed by Jemma Cotter
“An ingenious ode to a John Carpenter classic, with innovative craftsmanship that combines real actors with stop motion animation.”

The Rouben Mamoulin Award for Best Director:
MATES directed by Rory Pearson
“MATES features raw performances and a convincing body transformation that portrays with great empathy the vulnerabilities and traumas of its protagonists.

Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award for Screenwriting:
MATES — Rory Pearson, Marcus Aldred-Traynor
“The story for MATES has a surprising rawness to it and walks a fine line between comedy and pathos, capturing the fragility of Australian male friendships”

The Big Bang Sound Design team – Wayne Pashley and Libby Villa.

This annual award recognises a trailblazing NSW-based screen practitioner whose work stands for innovation, imagination and high impact. Screen NSW awarded a $10,000 cash prize to Wayne Pashley and Libby Villa of The Big Bang Sound Design team at SFF’s Closing Night ceremony on Sunday 15 June. Previous winners include Debbie Lee, Chris Godfrey, Karina Holden, Warwick Thornton, Leah Purcell, and Lynette Wallworth.