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The Sydney Film Festival has long been entertaining local movie buffs and global travellers alike – for 73 years, to be precise – and with a stacked program of more than 200 films screening across 12 venues in 12 days, this year is not to be skipped. You’ll see.
From June 3 to 14, you can catch everything from major Hollywood blockbusters the whole world is talking about to disruptive arthouse gems, and it’s time to find out for yourself why these flicks are making waves. Whether you’re a film industry professional or a casual popcorn muncher, you’re guaranteed to find a film that’ll change the way you see the world.
So what *is* on offer in this year’s program? The slate is loaded with returning Sydney Film Prize winners and new voices from Australia and around the world – including 19 films direct from the Cannes Film Festival. Highlights include Andrey Zvyagintsev’s long-awaited return Minotaur; Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales, starring Isabelle Huppert as a writer who spies on her neighbours for material; Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as a couple under scrutiny; Pawel Pawlikowski’s biographical film Fatherland; Ira Sachs’ musical The Man I Love with Rami Malek; and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Sheep in the Box.
Not to be missed is 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’re also excited to see Aussie documentary Silenced, the festival’s opener from director Selina Miles, and The Valley, a cinematic portrait of Kangaroo Valley from Ian Darling, a former Sydney Film Festival winner. There are hits direct from Europe, including Erupcja starring Charli XCX, and Berlinale Golden Bear winner Yellow Letters, which follows a family in turmoil. This year, Sydney Film Festival also presents Sartorial: Fashion on Film, a program exploring the relationship between fashion and cinema, with restored classics and new premieres like Jane B. par Agnès V. and Marc by Sofia.
And for fans of the Oscar-nominated hit The Secret Agent, celebrated filmmaker and SFF Official Competition Jury President Kleber Mendonça Filho has personally curated a special program of Brazilian shorts and features in The Tropical Trail.
There are 12 films in the running for the ‘Official Competition’ prize – which awards a whopping $60,000 in cold harsh cash for “courageous, audacious and cutting-edge” filmmaking.
The festival sprawls across venues all over Sydney, so you can make a night of it at the flagship State Theatre, or duck into your local cinema for a cheeky solo screening after work. Venues include some of Sydney’s best cinemas and cool pop-up venues like the Randwick Ritz, the Hayden Orpheum, Dendy Newtown, both Palace Cinemas (Norton Street and Central), Event Cinemas on George Street, Art Gallery of NSW, the City Recital Hall and The SFF Hub underground at Town Hall.
Single festival tickets start at $27.50 for adults, but you can save when you buy a flexipass to view 10 films, which works out to be $19.90 each screening. The 73rd Sydney Film Festival will run from June 3–14, 2026. Get in on the action by booking your tickets here.
Pssst... Want free tix?
We're giving away seven double passes to attend the Time Out screening of wartime thriller Pressure at The State Theatre on Saturday, June 6 at 1.45pm for this year's Sydney Film Festival. All you've got to do is enter below befor midnight, May 27.