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Special Presentations

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You’ll see the hottest new films at the spectacular State Theatre – the beating heart of Sydney Film Festival. 

Be moved and inspired by world premieres and award-winning films featuring some of the biggest and brightest stars, plus special guests and red carpet events. 

Past Event
Árru
In this powerful, song-filled drama, a Sámi reindeer herder confronts a mining project threatening her ancestral lands and way of life. Berlinale 2026.
Past Event
The Birthday Party
A gripping home-invasion thrill ride direct from the Cannes Competition. Hafsia Herzi and Monica Bellucci star as neighbours whose plans for a pleasant birthday party are explosively interrupted.
Past Event
Colony
Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho reignites the zombie genre with this propulsive action film that sees a rapidly mutating virus unleashed. Direct from Cannes Midnight.
Past Event
Dead Man’s Wire
Gus Van Sant (Milk) directs Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery and Al Pacino in this thrilling, true account of a 1977 hostage standoff. Venice 2025.
Past Event
Documentary
Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie
Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, SFF 2008) charts author Salman Rushdie's unbelievable recovery after being stabbed 15 times, using footage filmed by Rushdie's wife.
Past Event
The Man I Love
Direct from the Cannes Competition, Ira Sachs' new film is a moving and sensual romantic drama set in 1980s New York, starring Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge, Luther Ford and Rebecca Hall.
Past Event
Pressure
Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser star in the incredible true story of one meteorologist's mighty impact on D-Day. An edge-of-your-seat view of a world-changing event.
Past Event
Rays and Shadows
This sweeping World War II epic from Xavier Giannoli (Lost Illusions) sees Oscar winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist) portray a real-life press baron in Nazi-occupied Paris caught between peace and power.
Past Event
Rose
Sandra Hüller won the Berlinale Silver Bear for this towering performance as a 17th century soldier who claims an inheritance only to have his identity brought into question.
Past Event
The Samurai and the Prisoner
Veteran auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, SFF 1998) delivers his first-ever samurai film with this majestic, Cannes-selected epic set in Japan's Warring States period.
Past Event
Guest
Silent Friend
Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Léa Seydoux star in the wondrous latest from Ildikó Enyedi (On Body and Soul, Sydney Film Prize 2017), following three era-spanning stories connected by a tree.
Past Event
Sundays
Bright 17-year-old Ainara surprises everyone by trialling convent life in this piercing drama about faith and family. Winner of Best Film, San Sebastián Film Festival 2025.
Past Event
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Direct from winning the Queer Palm at Cannes, Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson electrify in this camp, bloody psychosexual horror from queer maverick Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow, SFF 2024).
Past Event
Guest
Documentary
The Valley
A meditative cinematic portrait of a place and community, Kangaroo Valley, about two hours south of Sydney. World Premiere directed by Ian Darling (The Final Quarter, SFF 2019).
Past Event
Yellow Letters
Winner of the Berlinale Golden Bear. A family descends into turmoil after a simple act of disobedience triggers authoritarian persecution. A searing critique of our times.
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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What's playing at the State Theatre?Official CompetitionWhat's on at the Hub?
Search films, venues, guests...
Explore
Browse All Films A-ZTickets and FlexipassesView Calendar
Suggested Searches
What's playing at the State Theatre?Official CompetitionWhat's on at the Hub?