Program Strands

You’ll see audacious, cutting-edge, and courageous films in the 2026 Official Competition as we celebrate 18 years of the prestigious Sydney Film Prize – with $60,000 to be awarded to the winning filmmaker. 

You’ll see the hottest new films at the spectacular State Theatre – the beating heart of Sydney Film Festival. 

You’ll see Australia’s most exciting documentary filmmakers present a world of stories – each illuminating, unmissable and urgent. 

The First Nations Award is proudly supported by
Truant Pictures with a $35,000 cash prize – the
largest in the world for Indigenous filmmaking.

You’ll see it to believe it when the very best of non-fiction filmmaking from around the world arrives at SFF. 

The Sustainable Future Award, with a cash prize of $40,000, is the largest environmental film prize in the world.

Sartorial: Fashion on Film presents a film-lover’s survey of seriously stylish cinema, new and old.

Some films can’t be described, they have to be experienced. You’ll see.

A program of Brazilian films curated by Kleber Mendonça Filho

Freak Me Out cordially invites you to take a walk on the wild and weird side of contemporary cinema.

Sydney Film Festival marks 10 years of showcasing bold, groundbreaking stories by creatives living with disabilities on the screen.

Family Films is your place to discover big daredevil adventures, magical mysterious worlds and marvelously mischievous characters.

Pioneering lesbian and feminist icon Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) didn’t just make films, she reinvented what cinema could be. 

You’ll see these six classic films the way they were meant to be seen this year – on the big screen. 

For over a decade, EUROPE! Voices of Women+ in Film has evolved into a vibrant initiative championing diversity and fostering international exchange. 

FLUX foregrounds the cutting-edge of contemporary cinema, championing daring new work.  

You’ll see and you’ll hear big stories with big sound. 

Late additions direct from Cannes. You’ll see these spectacular new films before almost anyone else in the world.

The biggest films of the Festival return for one week only.