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Cairns Program

The Fox

Directed by Dario Russo
Australia
2025
90 mins
Unclassified 18+
Jai Courtney and Emily Browning star alongside Olivia Colman as a talking fox and Sam Neill as a magpie in this absurdly comic Australian folktale from Dario Russo (Danger 5). SXSW 2026.

Jai Courtney (Dangerous Animals, SFF 2025) stars as Nick, a small-town, himbo fox catcher and heir to a large estate. But his personal life is a mess – his fiancée, Kori (Browning, Sleeping Beauty, SFF 2011), is caught sleeping with her boss, Derek (Damon Herriman, Together, SFF 2025), who is the husband of her best friend Diana (Claudia Doumit, The Boys). This entangled foursome of adultery and toxic relationships gets upended when Nick catches a mysterious Fox (voiced by Colman) who promises him the perfect wife in exchange for freedom. Nick accepts the Fox’s proposal but soon gets more than he bargained for. A devilish folktale made with remarkable animatronic puppetry for the titular Fox and Magpie (Neill).

“[Director Dario Russo] can be droll, he can be wacky, but there’s an underlying cynicism to The Fox that gives it heft.”
William Bibbiani, The Wrap
“[Russo] shows a strong handle over the film’s fanciful tone and fitfully filthy sense of humor.”
Stephen Saito, Variety
“It’s inventive in its savagery, almost always perturbing, but succeeds at the kind of absurd genre blend that made Yorgos Lanthimos a household name.”
Zachary Lee, RogerEbert.com
“[Director Dario Russo] can be droll, he can be wacky, but there’s an underlying cynicism to The Fox that gives it heft.”
William Bibbiani, The Wrap

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Tickets

Mon 9 November 2026, 7pm
Event Cinemas Cairns Central
Event Cinemas Cairns Central
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Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking, or see our Access & Inclusion page for more information.

  • Year
    2025
  • Classification
    Unclassified 18+
  • Country
    Australia
  • Language
    In English
  • Director
    Dario Russo
  • Producer
    Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings, Carly Maple
  • Cast
    Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Olivia Colman
  • Screenwriter
    Dario Russo
  • Cinematographer
    Matthew Chuang
  • Editor
    Dario Russo
  • Genre
    Australian, Comedy, Fantasy & Sci-Fi
  • Company Credits
    Australian Distributor: Madman Entertainment
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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