The 72nd Sydney Film Festival programme is here – featuring 201 films from 70 countries.
In 2025, audiences can enjoy 17 world premieres, 6 international premieres, and 137 Australian premieres, as the festival opens with ‘Together’ starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco.
A selection of 15 of the films this year are direct from the Cannes Film Festival, including Jafar Panache’s ‘It Was Just An Accident’, and Kelly Richard’s 1970s-set art heist drama ‘The Mastermind’. Meanwhile, other highlights include ‘The Life Of Chuck’ starring Tom Hiddleston; debut Australian director Amy Wang’s SXSW-winning satire ‘Slanted’; Sundance comedy hit ‘Twinless’; the sweeping queer romance ‘On Swift Horses’ with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi; and ‘Dreams (Sex Love)’, winner of the Berlinale Golden Bear.
“The 2025 Festival offers a bold and expansive view of cinema today, with films that confront the urgent realities of our world, while also revelling in the power of imagination and storytelling,” Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley says.
“From astonishing Australian debuts to daring new works by global auteurs, this year’s programme is a celebration of creative risk, personal vision and artistic resilience. We invite audiences to explore this thrilling line-up, connect with filmmakers from around the world, and share in the transformative joy of cinema.”
This year will also see Sydney Opera House as a screening venue, joining the State Theatre and cinemas across the city.
The State Theatre will host some of Sydney Film Festival’s biggest nights, with red carpet premieres, award-winning films, star-studded line-ups, and dazzling special events.
Star-led features include Richard Linklater’s ‘Blue Moon’ starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, and Andrew Scott. . . Michael Franco’s ‘Dreams’ featuring Jessica Chastain as a wealthy philanthropist; ‘The Ballad Of Wallis Island’, a charming comedy with Carey Mulligan; and Jodie Foster in ‘Vie Privee’.
Some of the features audiences can expect in 2025 are ‘Death Of An Undertaker’, directed by Christian Byers and having its world premiere at the festival. . . ‘Love’, the second in Haugerud’s thematic trilogy. . . ‘Come Closer’, a Tribeca Viewpoints Award-winner about a woman who plunged into grief and obsession after her brother’s death. . . High-stakes hospital drama ‘Late Shift’. . . ‘Ciao Bambino’, a Naples-set debut in which a teenage boy is tasked with protecting a sex worker, and more.
From the frontline of war to the quiet corners of rural life, the international documentaries in this year’s programme spotlight compelling, provocative and human true stories from around the world.
There’s ‘Always’, following an eight-year-old boy poet’s coming-of-age in rural China. . . ‘The Perfect Neighbour’, a Sundance Directing Award-winner constructed almost entirely from bodycam footage. . . ‘Assembly’, tracking artist Rashaad Newsome as he builds a radical, joy-filled AI-powered queer Black utopia at New York’s Armory, and more.
Music will take centre stage in the Sounds On Screen programme, featuring aurally exhilarating documentaries, Europe! Voices Of Women+ In Film presents six striking features by female filmmakers, the First Nations Award programme spans powerful stories from across the world, and Freak Me Out gives lovers of all things strange and scary plenty to look forward to.
Screenability will return for a ninth consecutive year, showcasing a vibrant line-up of films created by filmmakers living with disability, and the Classics Restored programme brings five iconic films back to the big screen, newly remastered and ready to be rediscovered.
“The Sydney Film Festival is the highlight of the year for NSW film fans and is part of an amazing line-up of cultural events that kick off as the cooler weather kicks in,” Minister For The Arts John Graham says. “As this line-up confirms, you will always see the best films in the world at the Sydney Film Festival. You won’t find this carefully curated collection of films from your couch, so I implore you to get down the festival and join the experience.”
Check out the full programme.
Sydney Film Festival 2025 is on from 4-15 June.
