A night at the movies is looking like a sure thing as Sydney Film Festival unveils its official program for 2022. After two years of disrupted viewing, oscillating between digital screenings and delayed festivities, this year the festival is returning to its regular slot across June 8 to 19.

To open Sydney Film Festival, organisers are beginning with the world premiere of We Are Still Here, a collaboration between 10 directors across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the South Pacific that interweaves eight stories across myriad genres.

For the 14th year running, $60,000 will be up for grabs as part of the Official Competition which recognises audacious, cutting edge and courageous cinema. There are currently 12 films in the running, including Del Kathryn Barton’s directorial debut Blaze, starring Simon Baker, Yael Stone and Julia Savage, as well as You Won't Be Alone, a supernatural tale for Goran Stolevski.

Speaking on the program, Sydney Film Festival Director Nash Moodley said, "What a joy it is to return to the Festival’s traditional June dates, bringing with it the return of international filmmakers to present their films, in person parties, talks, the Festival Hub and a range of activities in and outside of the cinema".

"As ever, our 2022 program brings together films from all over the world, engaging with the most pertinent issues in challenging and entertaining ways. And how have filmmakers responded to these past years of the pandemic, war and rising authoritarianism? With films confronting these challenges head-on but frequently suggesting a better way forward. And with love stories!" he continued.

“There are films that will elicit big emotions, that have us laughing and crying in the cinema; films that will bring the intensity of feeling that comes from seeing something on the big screen, in a room filled with people…the big feelings experienced only in cinema,” Moodley added,

Explore the Sydney Film Festival 2022 program in full on the festival's website.