The Sydney Film Festival has unveiled the full programme for its 73rd edition, which runs June 3-14, including 19 films coming directly from Cannes.
Among the Cannes 2026 premieres playing in Sydney’s official competition this year are Andrey Zvyagintsev’s 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; and Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Sheep in the Box
The festival will show 248 films from 81 countries, with screenings hosted at Sydney Opera House, State Theatre and cinemas across the city.
The competition also includes Sundance hits Olivia Wilde’s The Invite and Australian horror Leviticus, as well as Berlinale competition premiere Dao and opener No Good Men, and Cannes Un Certain Regard title Ben’Imana by Rwandan director Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
The festival’s jury will be presided over by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, alongside Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng, Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, Australian cinematographer Ari Wegner and director Sally Riley. Films will compete for the A$60,000 (US $43,400) Sydney Film Prize award.
Sydney will open with Australian director Selina Miles’s Sundance-premiering documentary Silenced, about the rising legal backlash to the #MeToo movement, which will compete for the Documentary Australia Award along with nine other films.
The festival will also present additional awards, including the Sustainable Future Award, Dendy Short Film Award, and First Nations Award.
Sydney Film Festival Competition 2026
- Leviticus, dir. Adrian Chiarella
- Minotaur, dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Parallel Tales, dir. Asghar Farhadi
- Sheep in the Box, dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu
- Fatherland, dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
- Gentle Monster, dir. Marie Kreutzer
- The Dreamed Adventure, dir. Valeska Grisebach
- Fjord, dir. Cristian Mungiu
- Ben’Imana, dir. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
- Shame and Money, dir. Visar Morina
- Dao, dir. Alain Gomis
- No Good Men, dir. Shahrbanoo Sadat
- The Invite, dir. Olivia Wilde
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