The 72nd Sydney Film Festival promises a wealth of cinematic wonders.
It’s time to unlimber your wallets, film fans – the Sydney Film Festival is almost upon us. Running from June 4 – 15 across multiple venues, the 72nd edition of SFF promises to be a banger, with a program offering something sure to entice even the pickiest punter to pick up a ticket.
At last night’s program launch, the big news was that this year’s festival has a whiskey sponsor, Glendronach, which is why you’re getting this after noon. And they’re also bringing us some pretty cool flicks.
“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 Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. “From astonishing Australian debuts to daring new works by global auteurs, this year’s program 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’s opening night film is Together, the debut feature from Melbourne writer and director Michael Shanks. Starring real life partners Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a young couple who move to the country, the film develops a new definition of co-dependency after a seemingly supernatural encounter leads to all manner of grotesque transformations. It’s relationship drama meets body horror, and is sure to shock and surprise SFF audiences.
Together is in competition for the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize, where it’ll go up against Iranian road movie It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi; Kelly Reichardt’s heist drama The Mastermind, starring Josh O’Connor and Alana Haim; Icelandic comedy The Love That Remains by Hlynur Pálmason (Godland); Mirrors No. 3 by Christian Petzold; My Father’s Shadow by Akinola Davies Jr., the first Nigerian film in competition in the history of the festival; Carla Simón’s magical realist drama Romería; The Secret Agent by Sydney Film Prize winner Kleber Mendonça Filho (Aquarius); Sundance Audience Award winner DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski; Palestinian drama All That’s Left of You by Cherien Dabis; Berlinale Grand Jury Prize winner The Blue Trail by Gabriel Mascaro; and Sorry, Baby, the Sundance hit by Eva Victor, who co-stars with Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges.
All up, we’re getting 201 films from 70 countries including 17 world premieres, six international premieres, and 137 Australian premieres. Not too shabby.
The Sydney Film Festival is easily the most anticipated date on the Sydney film fan’s calendar, and tickets for the high profile sessions tend to vanish quickly. We’ll be passing a critical eye over the full program and pulling out some deeper cuts for your consideration, but in the meantime, slide over to the official site for more info.
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