The 72nd Sydney Film Festival has revealed its full program, launching a massive lineup of 201 films from 70 countries, including 17 world premieres, 6 international premieres, and 137 Australian premieres across multiple venues including the iconic Sydney Opera House as a new screening location.
Festival director Nashen Moodley announced the program will feature 15 films direct from Cannes including Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” and Kelly Reichardt’s 1970s-set art heist drama “The Mastermind.”
“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,” said Moodley.
Other key highlights include “The Life of Chuck” starring Tom Hiddleston, debut Australian director Amy Wang’s SXSW-winning satire “Slanted,” Sundance comedy “Twinless,” and “On Swift Horses” featuring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi.
The festival will open with the Australian premiere of “Together,” written and directed by Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks and starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. The Sundance breakout blends domestic drama with supernatural elements.
This year marks the 17th edition of the official competition for the Sydney Film Prize, with AUD60,000 ($39,000) awarded to the most “audacious, cutting-edge and courageous” film. The jury is led by acclaimed Australian director Justin Kurzel.
The competition lineup includes “It Was Just an Accident,” “The Mastermind,” “Romería” (Berlinale Golden Bear-winner Carla Simón), “The Secret Agent” (Kleber Mendonça Filho), “The Love That Remains” (Hlynur Pálmason), “Mirrors No. 3” (Christian Petzold), “My Father’s Shadow” (Akinola Davies Jr.), “Sorry, Baby” (Eva Victor), “The Blue Trail” (Gabriel Mascaro), “DJ Ahmet” (Sundance Audience Award-winner), “All That’s Left of You” (Cherien Dabis), and opening night film “Together.”
The Documentary Australia Award will see 10 new Australian documentaries compete for a $13,000 prize, including world premieres of “Floodland,” “Joh: Last King of Queensland,” “Journey Home, David Gulpilil,” “The Raftsmen,” and “Yurlu | Country.” Other documentary competitors include “Deeper,” “The Golden Spurtle,” “The Wolves Always Come at Night,” “Songs Inside,” and “Ellis Park.”
The festival will showcase major retrospectives including “Jafar Panahi: Cinema in Rebellion,” featuring all 10 of the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker’s features, and “Elaine May: Urbane Legend,” celebrating the influential American director’s four cult classics.
Other program highlights include the $26,000 Sustainable Future Award with competitors “The End,” “Floodland,” “How Deep is Your Love,” “Lowland Kids,” “Nechako — It Will be a Big River Again,” “Only on Earth,” “The Wolves Always Come at Night,” and the short “Rolly: Story of My Father.”
The $22,700 First Nations Award, the world’s largest cash award for global Indigenous filmmaking, includes “Emily: I Am Kam,” “The Haka Party Incident,” “Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao e Rua — Two Worlds,” “Nechako — It Will Be a Big River Again,” “Seeds,” “Wilfred Buck,” and “Remaining Native.”
The festival runs June 4-15, 2025, with events including free talks, special screenings with Vivid Sydney, and SFFTV outdoor screenings in Martin Place.