SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAM FOR 3-14 JUNE FESTIVAL

HISTORIC LINEUP UNVEILED, FEATURING RETURNING SYDNEY FILM PRIZE WINNERS AND SPECTACULAR NEW VOICES FROM AUSTRALIA AND AROUND THE WORLD

SYDNEY, NSW, AUSTRALIA, May 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- PRESS PACK HERE

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

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.

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.

"We want to invite you to join us at SFF this year, where each moment offers an opportunity for discovery and empathy," said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. "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."

Minister for the Arts, John Graham said, “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. As we continue backing the NSW screen industry for growth, it will be fantastic to see our local film makers alongside the world’s best.”

Minister for Jobs and Tourism, Steve Kamper said, “Sydney Film Festival spotlights the Harbour City as a vibrant global hub for the arts and world-class cultural experiences. Not only does it showcase local and world films before they receive international acclaim, but it also attracts thousands of visitors each year, creating a buzz around Sydney and supporting businesses and jobs across our visitor and night-time economy.”

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.

OPENING NIGHT

The 73rd Sydney Film Festival will open Wednesday 3 June with the Australian Premiere of Silenced, directed by Selina Miles. The Sundance-premiered documentary follows international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson as she fights against the weaponisation of defamation law by alleged perpetrators to silence survivors and journalists. The film traces the cases of Brittany Higgins, Catalina Ruiz-Navarro and Amber Heard.

Director Selina Miles, and subject Jennifer Robinson will attend Opening Night to present the film.

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

In 2026, the Official Competition celebrates 18 years of the prestigious Sydney Film Prize, which sees $60,000 awarded each year to an “audacious, cutting-edge and courageous” film.

From Australia, Leviticus is a bold, breakout Sundance hit from Australian Adrian Chiarella, where two teenage boys contend with an evil force that takes on the form of the person they desire most: each other.

Films direct from the Cannes Competition include Andrey Zvyagintsev's Minotaur, a taut thriller that melds the personal and political in 2022 Russia; Asghar Farhadi's Parallel Tales, in which a writer uses surveillance for inspiration, with an all-star French cast including Isabelle Huppert and Catherine Deneuve; Kore-eda Hirokazu's (Shoplifters, SFF 2018; Monster, SFF 2023) Sheep in the Box, a moving near-future drama about grieving parents who turn to AI to rebuild their family; and Paweł Pawlikowski's (Ida; Cold War, SFF 2018) Fatherland, a sensational snapshot of writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika navigating post-war Germany, starring Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler.

Also straight from the Cannes Competition are; Marie Kreutzer's Gentle Monster, starring Léa Seydoux; Valeska Grisebach's The Dreamed Adventure following a woman on a perilous mission through the Bulgarian borderlands; and Cristian Mungiu's (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) English-language debut Fjord, a thought-provoking family drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.

Also from Cannes Un Certain Regard, Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo's Ben'Imana is an emotionally powerful exploration of reconciliation following the Rwandan genocide, set to be one of the year's most acclaimed debuts.

Major international prize winners and much anticipated film also compete. Visar Morina's Shame and Money, winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, is a deeply humane drama following a Kosovar family in dire financial circumstances; Alain Gomis' (Félicité, SFF 2017) Dao, presented in the Berlinale Competition, is a swirling, life-affirming epic across Guinea-Bissau and France. Shahrbanoo Sadat's No Good Men, a sparkling political romantic comedy from Afghanistan, opened the Berlinale. Olivia Wilde's (Booksmart, SFF 2019) The Invite, a Sundance hit starring Seth Rogen, Wilde herself, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, dissects modern relationships over one combustible dinner party.

The winner of the Sydney Film Prize is announced at the Festival’s Closing Night Gala on Sunday 14 June. Previous winners include: It Was Just an Accident (2025), 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 the only film competition in Australia endorsed by FIAPF, the regulating body for international film festivals, and is judged by a jury of international and Australian filmmakers and industry professionals.

The 2026 Official Competition jury will be presided over by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho (The Secret Agent, SFF 2026), alongside Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi (On Body and Soul, SFF 2017), Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng (Apprentice), Australian cinematographer Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog), and Australian First Nations producer and director Sally Riley (Mystery Road).

DOCUMENTARY AUSTRALIA AWARD

Ten outstanding new Australian documentaries will compete for the $20,000 Documentary Australia Award, with the winning film also becoming Academy Award eligible.

World Premieres include Rodeo Dreams, the engrossing story of four young Queensland bull riders following their dreams across Gulf Country to the Mount Isa Rodeo; Yumburra, Grace McKenzie's portrait of Bruce Pascoe in the aftermath of Dark Emu, living on his riverside farm and testing the theories of his landmark book; and The Piano Tuner, Natalia Laska's eight-year profile of Martin Tucker, a passionate piano doctor on a mission to save Australia's ageing instruments.

Australian films premiering in competition include Mockbuster, Anthony Frith's hilarious audience award-winning documentary charting his attempt to make a dinosaur film for notorious B-movie house The Asylum in just six days; Whistle, Christopher Nelius' (Girls Can't Surf, SFF 2021) offbeat crowd-pleaser following the world's greatest whistling competition, from Toronto 2025; Phenomena, Josef Gatti's visually stunning psychedelic odyssey into the forces that shape the natural world, a hit at True/False and CPH:DOX; and Replica, in which three Chinese women turn to AI for love and connection, an award-winning documentary from debut director Chouwa Liang.

Also in competition are Silenced, which opens the Festival; Sukundimi Walks Before Me, a powerful documentary following an Indigenous PNG community's campaign to preserve the Sepik River from a mining project; and Time and Tide, Vee Shi's compelling hybrid docu-drama tracing contemporary China through a multigenerational family navigating the pressures of familial obligation.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS AT THE STATE

The State Theatre sets the stage for Sydney Film Festival's biggest nights, with red carpet premieres, award-winning films and star-studded special events.

Star-led features include Dead Man's Wire, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery and Al Pacino, recounting the infamous 1977 hostage standoff broadcast live across America; and Rays and Shadows, Xavier Giannoli's sweeping epic starring Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin as a press baron navigating Nazi-occupied France.

Direct from Cannes comes The Man I Love, Ira Sachs' romantic drama set in 1980s New York, starring Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge and Rebecca Hall; The Birthday Party, a taut thriller starring Hafsia Herzi and Monica Bellucci; Colony, from Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho, a propulsive zombie action film from Cannes Midnight; Silent Friend, winner of the Venice FIPRESCI Prize, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Léa Seydoux in Ildikó Enyedi's (On Body and Soul, Sydney Film Prize 2017) story spanning a century through the life of a ginkgo tree; Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun’s (I Saw the TV Glow, SFF 2024) stylish psychosexual horror, starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson; and The Samurai and the Prisoner, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's (Cure, SFF 1998) majestic Cannes-selected samurai epic.

Australian voices feature strongly. Pressure, the much-anticipated latest from acclaimed Australian director Anthony Maras (Hotel Mumbai), stars Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser in the true story of one meteorologist's impact on D-Day. Ian Darling's (The Final Quarter, SFF 2019) The Valley also has its World Premiere, a meditative portrait of life in Kangaroo Valley.

Major award winners also screen. Yellow Letters, the Berlinale Golden Bear winner, and Rose, which earned Sandra Hüller the Berlinale Silver Bear, both have their Australian premieres. Sundays, winner of Best Film at the San Sebastián Film Festival, follows a teenage girl whose decision to enter convent life unmasks the frailties of her family. Also screening are Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, Oscar-winner Alex Gibney's (Taxi to the Dark Side, SFF 2008) captivating account of Rushdie's recovery after being stabbed 15 times; and Árru, a powerful Berlinale debut following a Sámi reindeer herder confronting a mining project threatening her ancestral lands.

The full Sydney Film Festival 2026 program can be found online at sff.org.au.

Sydney Film Festival runs from 3-14 June 2026. Tickets and FlexiPasses to Sydney Film Festival 2026 are on sale now. Please call 1300 733 733 or visit sff.org.au for more information or to book.

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EDITOR’S NOTES

ABOUT SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL
The Sydney Film Festival is one of the world’s longest running and most prestigious film festivals. The 73rd edition, taking place from 3 to 14 June 2026, will showcase the very best in contemporary cinema and offer audiences the chance to experience premieres, red carpet events, and exciting special programs across Sydney.

The Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Screen NSW and Destination NSW, the Federal Government through Screen Australia, and the City of Sydney.

Stay up to date with Sydney Film Festival: eNews, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

For more information, visit sff.org.au.

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