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Search films, venues, guests...
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Browse All Films A-ZTickets and FlexipassesView Calendar
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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?
Official Competition
Program Strand
Awards

You’ll see audacious, cutting-edge, and courageous films in the 2026 Official Competition as we celebrate 18 years of the prestigious Sydney Film Prize – with $60,000 to be awarded to the winning filmmaker. 

Special Presentations

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).

Browse by Genre

Horror
Romance
Comedy
Doco
Family
HIstory
Sport
LGBTQIA+

Freak me out

Past Event
Dawning
This riveting psychodrama follows three sisters who gather at a family cabin in Norway, where disturbing news and an ominous stranger awaits them. Fantastic Fest, Sitges 2025.
Past Event
Ghost in the Cell
A vengeful demon runs amok inside a high security prison in this gleefully gruesome horror-action-comedy spectacular from Indonesian genre ace Joko Anwar. Berlinale 2026.
Past Event
Imposters
Scream queen Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) stars in a mind-bending sci-fi horror about the apparently miraculous return of a couple’s missing child. SXSW Midnighter 2026.
Past Event
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant
The gross-out dial is turned up to 11 in this hilarious debut feature from Kiwi duo Thunderlips. The truth-in-advertising title says it all. Sundance 2026.
Past Event
Never After Dark
A travelling psychic’s routine job turns into a terrifying ordeal in a scary and stunningly executed J-horror set at a remote hotel. Audience award, SXSW Midnighter 2026.
Past Event
Guest
The Peril at Pincer Point
A sound recordist is sent to a strange island in this spectacularly eccentric British comedy-horror-fantasy delight made in marvellous monochrome. Auteur Award, SXSW 2026.

Comedies

Past Event
Rosebush Pruning
Elle Fanning, Callum Turner, Riley Keough and Jamie Bell star in Karim Aïnouz's stylish, savage family satire about the coddled existence of four wealthy siblings. Berlinale 2026.
Past Event
Sorella Di Clausura
Katia Pascariu (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, SFF 2021) stars in this unashamedly bawdy and wickedly funny Romanian ‘rom-com’. Best Film, Sarajevo Film Festival 2025.
Past Event
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant
The gross-out dial is turned up to 11 in this hilarious debut feature from Kiwi duo Thunderlips. The truth-in-advertising title says it all. Sundance 2026.
State Theatre
Sydney cbd
The historic State Theatre is Sydney Film Festival's largest venue and our home since 1974.
Dendy Newtown
inner west
Located in the heart of Newtown, Dendy Newtown offers state-of-the-art cinemas in stylish comfort and surroundings.
<p>Sydney Film Festival 2024 &#8211; Premiere of &#8220;A Horse Named Winx&#8221; at Ritz Randwick Cinemas, Randwick &#8211; Friday 7th June, 2024<br /> Photographer: Belinda Rolland © 2024</p>
Ritz cinema randwick
eastern suburbs
Sydney Film Festival returns to Randwick’s iconic art deco Ritz Cinema with a program of wonderful features and documentaries.

Letterboxd top 10

Past Event
Documentary
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This Sundance award winner captures the dawn immigration raid that sparked an unprecedented community uprising in Glasgow. Featuring Emma Thompson and Kate Dickie.
Past Event
Documentary
American Doctor
Three American doctors travel to Gaza, risking everything to save lives – in turn exposing the reality of the war and the endurance of human compassion. Sundance 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
A Fox Under a Pink Moon
Winner of the top prize at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, this unforgettable doc follows 16-year-old Soraya as she risks everything to escape Iran.
Past Event
Documentary
Remake
Revered filmmaker Ross McElwee (Sherman's March, SFF 1986; Bright Leaves, SFF 2004) returns after 14 years with a heart-rending tribute to his lost son. Award winner, Venice 2025.
Past Event
Documentary
Landmarks
This explosive documentary directed by Lucrecia Martel (Zama, SFF 2018) won Best Film at BFI London Film Festival. A gripping investigation into the killing of an Indigenous leader.
Past Event
Palestine 36
A sweeping historical epic from award-winning director Annemarie Jacir (Wajib, SFF 2017), Palestine’s official Oscar entry chronicles the 1936 Arab revolt against British rule.
Past Event
Documentary
Steal This Story, Please!
This multiple audience award-winning film on Democracy Now! cofounder Amy Goodman reveals why fearless journalism matters more than ever. Executive produced by Jane Fonda.
Past Event
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).
Past Event
Guest
The World of Love
Praised by Bong Joon-ho, this acutely observed, critically acclaimed Korean festival and theatrical hit follows a teen girl whose bright exterior hides a difficult past.
Past Event
A Sad and Beautiful World
Cyril Aris' debut narrative feature is an exhilarating love story set against decades of turmoil in Lebanon. Winner of multiple audience awards, including at Venice 2025.

International Documentaries

Past Event
Documentary
32 Meters
Women aren’t allowed in the local shooting contest in Halime’s small Turkish village. So, she creates her own in this bold, hilarious and moving documentary. Hot Docs Festival 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
An AI future seems inevitable. Oscar winner Daniel Roher (Navalny, SFF 2022) and Charlie Tyrell break open all the promise and perils in this illuminating doc. Sundance 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
American Doctor
Three American doctors travel to Gaza, risking everything to save lives – in turn exposing the reality of the war and the endurance of human compassion. Sundance 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava
A Vietnamese family confront their past, present and imagined future with the impending arrival of baby Guava in this startlingly intimate directorial debut. Hot Docs 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
Birds of War
This unbelievable love story uses 13 years of personal archives to chart the evolving romance between a Lebanese journalist and a Syrian cameraman. Award winner, Sundance 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
A Child of My Own
A woman fakes a pregnancy and goes to extreme lengths to sustain the lie in this thrilling new doc from two-time Oscar nominee Maite Alberdi (The Eternal Memory, SFF 2023).
Past Event
Documentary
Closure
One of the top-reviewed documentaries at Sundance, Michał Marczak (Fuck for Forest, SFF 2013) delivers a powerfully emotive portrait of a father's search for his missing son.
Past Event
Documentary
Crocodile
The astonishing story behind the Nigerian filmmaking collective The Critics, whose handmade science fiction films have taken the world by storm. Berlinale 2026.

More ways to browse

A-Z
Browse every film and event in this year's program
By Date
Browse the full program by date and time
Calendar
Dive into the schedule with our interactive calendar
Trailer Roulette
Watch every trailer and find your next favorite film
Fjord
Past Event
australian premiere
Direct from Cannes
Winner, Palme d'Or, Cannes. Internationally acclaimed director Cristian Mungiu returns with his English-language debut, a thought-provoking family drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.

Browse by CouNTry

Australia
JAPAN
UK
South Korea
USA
Brazil
Canada
Philippines
France
Morocco

100% certified fresh

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
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
Documentary
Closure
One of the top-reviewed documentaries at Sundance, Michał Marczak (Fuck for Forest, SFF 2013) delivers a powerfully emotive portrait of a father's search for his missing son.
Past Event
Documentary
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This Sundance award winner captures the dawn immigration raid that sparked an unprecedented community uprising in Glasgow. Featuring Emma Thompson and Kate Dickie.
Past Event
Documentary
American Doctor
Three American doctors travel to Gaza, risking everything to save lives – in turn exposing the reality of the war and the endurance of human compassion. Sundance 2026.
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.

Australian Stories

Past Event
Guest
The Fox
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.
Past Event
Guest
Documentary
The Piano Tuner
On a rescue mission to save the piano, a passionate piano tuner meets a diverse mix of owners and their pianos – revealing their stories and relationship with the instrument.
Past Event
Guest
Body Blow
A cop goes undercover in Sydney's neon-lit gay nightlife, but danger lurks when he falls for a seductive bartender. A slick erotic thriller featuring Paul Capsis (Head On).
Past Event
Guest
French Girls
A young woman enters the uniquely absurd world of modelling in this Sydney microbudget marvel. The impressive debut feature of Hyun Lee (Asian Girls, SFF Dendy Awards 2018).
Past Event
Guest
Documentary
Phenomena
A psychedelic odyssey into the fabric of the universe, complete with hyper-real imagery, immersive practical experiments and ambient music from Nils Frahm and Rival Consoles.
Minotaur
Past Event
Guest
australian premiere
Direct from Cannes
Winner, Grand Prix, Cannes. 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.

Famous Faces

Past Event
Erupcja
Charli xcx gives an impressively raw and real performance in this tale of messy modern relationships, following a couple’s getaway to Warsaw gone awry. Toronto 2025.
Past Event
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).
Past Event
The Good Boy
Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough star as a couple who kidnap a young delinquent with the aim of training him to become a 'good boy'. Toronto and BFI London 2025.
Past Event
Rose of Nevada
George MacKay (The End, SFF 2025) and Callum Turner (Eternity) star as a pair of lost and bewildered fishermen in this beguiling time travel mystery. Venice 2025.
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
The Death of Robin Hood
A superb Hugh Jackman stars alongside Jodie Comer in this radical and brutal reimagining of the Robin Hood tale in which he's anything but a hero. Directed by Michael Sarnoski (Pig).
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
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
Fjord
Winner, Palme d'Or, Cannes. Internationally acclaimed director Cristian Mungiu returns with his English-language debut, a thought-provoking family drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.
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
Jack Johnson: SURFILMUSIC
Follow the sea-sprayed evolution of Jack Johnson from O’ahu grommet, to filmmaker, to the world famous musician behind hits like “Upside Down” and “Banana Pancakes”. SXSW 2026.
Past Event
Guest
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.
Leviticus
Past Event
Guest
See it first
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.

Talks & Events

Festival Hub
Past Event
Event
Umm Kulthum Celebration with Live Music
An evocative afternoon celebrating the legacy of Umm Kulthum — the diva, the lady, the singer, the human; whose storytelling through music has shaped generations.
Past Event
Event
Dendy Awards Ceremony and Celebration
Following a screening of all short films nominated for the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films at Event Cinemas, find out who are the winners of five prestigious cash prizes, and celebrate alongside Australia’s most exciting filmmakers.
Past Event
Guest
Event
Short Story Long: From Shorts to Features
This year, the Festival welcomes back a number of Dendy alumni with new feature films, alongside works emerging from short film initiatives supported by Screen NSW and Screen Australia’s First Nations Department.
Past Event
Guest
Event
Masterclass with Andrey Zvyagintsev
Direct from Cannes, the two-time Oscar nominated director will lead a masterclass giving insight into his extraordinary filmography, including his new film Minotaur. In conversation with Jason Di Rosso of ABC Radio National’s The Screen Show.
Past Event
Guest
Event
In Conversation with Peter Weir – The 2026 Ian McPherson Lecture
Presented in partnership with the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), this year’s Ian McPherson Lecture is a landmark celebration of a lifetime of screen achievement.
Sydney Opera House
Sydney cbd
See some of the best films from around the world at one the world’s most iconic cultural venues.
Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace
North Shore
This stylised 1930s cinema is one of the most prominent cinemas on the North Shore.
Palace Norton St
Inner West
Leichhardt, the heart of Sydney’s Italian community, is home to Palace Norton Street, surrounded by charming cafés and trattorias. 

Epic!

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
The Death of Robin Hood
A superb Hugh Jackman stars alongside Jodie Comer in this radical and brutal reimagining of the Robin Hood tale in which he's anything but a hero. Directed by Michael Sarnoski (Pig).
Past Event
El Sett
Legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum’s life is brought lavishly to the big screen in this epic telling – from her humble childhood to dominating the world stage.
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
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
Guest
Dao
A swirling epic that wowed audiences at the Berlinale, Dao is a life-affirming journey that contrasts a wedding in France with a memorial service in Guinea-Bissau to produce a mesmerising meditation on love, sadness and joy.
Past Event
Black Rabbit, White Rabbit
A car accident. A prop gun. And an aspiring actress. Three dreamlike stories collide in this meta-narrative from Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri (Fish & Cat, SFF 2014).

Direct from Sundance

Past Event
Documentary
Time and Water
Oscar nominee Sara Dosa’s (Fire of Love, SFF 2022) latest stunner sees writer Andri Snær Magnason reflect on family, memory and Iceland’s disappearing glaciers. Sundance 2026.
Past Event
I Want Your Sex
Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman and Charli xcx star in Gregg Araki's enjoyably outrageous, risqué sex-comedy, set in the Los Angeles contemporary art scene. Sundance 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This Sundance award winner captures the dawn immigration raid that sparked an unprecedented community uprising in Glasgow. Featuring Emma Thompson and Kate Dickie.
Past Event
Documentary
Nuisance Bear
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, this urgent doc follows polar bears in Manitoba struggling to adapt to a world transformed by climate change.
Past Event
Documentary
Closure
One of the top-reviewed documentaries at Sundance, Michał Marczak (Fuck for Forest, SFF 2013) delivers a powerfully emotive portrait of a father's search for his missing son.
Past Event
Documentary
Joybubbles
Born blind, Joybubbles uses his gift for perfect pitch to manipulate the phone system and make free calls in this exuberant, life-affirming documentary. Sundance 2026.
Past Event
Documentary
Hanging by a Wire
This nail-biting doc follows a desperate rescue attempt when a cable car carrying eight people – including six school children – fails 900 metres above a deadly ravine in Pakistan. Sundance 2026.
Sounds On Screen
Program Strand
Collections

You’ll see and you’ll hear big stories with big sound.