Sydney in June might just be my favourite time of year. Sydney Writers’ Festival wraps just as the Film Festival begins so, in a way, the cultural movements continue from one medium to another. The sun sets earlier, and the days grow cooler. We can finally pull out our cosy winter clothes and resume the simple rituals: soups, hot beverages, and thicker socks.

This year, the Sydney Film Festival 2025 brought together dozens of local and international films from all genres. Some are direct from Cannes, while others make their world premiere. The best venue to watch any film from the programme is the State Theatre. There’s something about the old-school popcorn machines, the biodegradable cups of soft drinks and wine, and sitting inside the grand auditorium in rows of red velvet chairs that readies your spirit to be taken on a visual journey. In a Q&A session after his movie, Gabriel Mascaro, director of The Blue Trail, called the State Theatre the “temple of cinema.” And after the 12 incredible movies I’ve seen over the last two weeks, I completely agree.

These are the films I think you can't miss from this year's selection:

Blue Moon

Directed by Richard Linklater, starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, and Andrew Scott.

If you like: long scenes, rich dialogue, and career-making performances.

Blue Moon feels like one long and languid scene, where the audience are merely bar patrons in 1943, eavesdropping on the loud, witty and poetic songwriter Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), whose self-confidence is slowly unravelling as he watches his former collaborator, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott), celebrate the most significant moment of his career without him. Equally funny and melancholic, it’s a true story based on letter correspondence between Hart and Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley) which, to me, highlights the immortality and joy of language. There are fascinating easter eggs throughout the film too, like the creation of the story of Stuart Little, and the writing of jazz hits My Funny Valentine and Manhattan.

The writing is incredible, and Hawke’s delivery is perfect – both so immaculately entwined that the dialogue becomes more like music than words. I sincerely hope a theatre director sees the potential in this script and adapts it for the stage. It was the first movie I watched at the festival and I’ve thought about it every day since. This is my pick for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for the upcoming awards season.

The Mastermind

Written and directed by Kelly Reichardt, starring Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim, John Magaro.

If you like: slow stories, hidden meanings, beautiful cinematography and, simply, Josh O’Connor.

I’ve recently finished reading The Art Thief by Michael Finkel – a biography on one of the most successful art thieves in modern history. However, Kelly Reichardt dismantled all of my ideas of what an art thief does and who they should be in The Mastermind. The film follows James Mooney (Josh O’Connor) as he plans and executes his first art heist. What we begin to discover about him is that his self-proclaimed being-made-for-greater-things destiny is just another chapter in a handbook of masculinity for dummies. Throughout the movie, I found myself thinking about the value of art, too: why did Mooney’s parents only care about the gallery itself after the artworks were stolen? Why do works become more important and more valuable once they’re newsworthy?

Every character brings an arc, the kids in this film are the definition of cathartic comedy, the score becomes a main character, and the stunning cinematography ties it together for the layered and humorously ironic story that this is. Plus, I’ve never seen Josh O’Connor in a movie I didn’t like.

Vie Privee

Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, starring Jodi Foster.

If you like: Jodi Foster, stunning interiors, crime stories and easy watching.

For all the artistic and serious movies that Sydney Film Festival offers, Vie Privee (A Private Life) felt like the perfect interlude in my programme. Jodie Foster makes her international language debut as a French-speaking American psychologist who works from her truly stunning Parisian apartment. After the death of one of her patients, we watch Foster launch her own investigation. It’s a story of the brilliance and complexities of our mind and our inner saboteur. The stories we can create and the conclusions we can draw are limitless. Are the answers to the questions we ask ourselves always difficult, or can the solution truly be something so simple it's beyond our comprehension?

Enzo

Directed by Robin Campillo, starring Eloy Pohu, Maksym Slivinkskyi.

If you like: older/younger relationship dynamics, Call Me By Your Name, and coming-of-age stories.

This felt like a slower and more intimate coming-of-age story than Call Me By Your Name. We follow Enzo (Eloy Pohu) as he navigates the emotional complexities of his sexuality. Enzo is against the tide and tension of time, at one end trying to slow it enough to understand himself and on the other being pulled into the current of changing circumstances beyond his control. While it tenderly depicts the confusion and isolation of gay adolescents beautifully, I wanted a little bit more depth from the characters.

Twinless

Written and directed by James Sweeney, starring Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney.

If you like: dark comedy, gay storylines, The Sims, and movies with multiple perspectives.

One of those movies that will change the way you see the world: in this case, you’ll never look at twins without thinking about this movie. Roman (Dylan O’Brien) has lost his twin brother but meets a fellow twinless brother at a twin bereavement group. The chemistry is undeniable between them but you’re left questioning if it’s too good to be true.

It is at once hilarious and heartbreaking, and so endearing. There are dozens of plot twists, and perspective shifts that happen seamlessly. You’re in for a momentous ride from start to finish. I’ve never taken note of Dylan O’Brien’s work until now – he shines bright in this role and made me snotty cry. I want to watch this again, today.

Sorry, Baby

Written, directed by Eva Victor, starring Eva Victor.

If you like: black comedy, hope and honesty.

Eva Victor wrote, directed and stars in Sorry, Baby, a story of a professor who is recovering from sexual assault. It is a story that layers grief with humour, and deals with trauma in a way that values hope and honesty over dramatisation. I loved the way this story was told, so patient and nuanced, that I found myself looking for other films that Victor has directed. You’ll be as surprised as I was learning that this is their directorial debut. This movie is in my top three must-sees of the festival. You cannot miss this when it comes out later this year.

The Blue Trail

Written and directed by Gabriel Mascaro, starring Denise Weinberg.

If you like: physical journeys, dystopian realities, stunning cinematography.

The Blue Trail is a dystopic portrait of Brazil where citizens over 80 years must live the rest of their days out in a colony in the name of economic recovery to allow the youth to work freely without having to care for the elderly. We follow Teca as she does everything she can to avoid being taken to the colony. While the story feels simple, it adds colour to an unseen generation in cinema. Gabriel Mascaro has created a story that not only gives older characters wants and needs beyond that of caring for children or death and doddery, but provides a story of pleasure and discovery even in the later stages of life. The stunning cinematography and exceptional score made this film extra special.

It was just an accident

Written and directed by Jafar Panahi, starring Vahid Mobasseri and Maryam Afshari.

If you like: edge-of-your-seat suspense and unforgettable endings.

The winner of the Sydney Film Festival prize, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident follows Vahid, as he kidnaps a man he believes to be a prison officer who tortured him. To confirm the man’s identity, Vahid recruits some more of the man’s victims which lead to a comedic but traumatic escalation of events. Simple in premise, right? But this is a film coming from a director who puts his craft above all else. Panahi has been imprisoned going against the Iranian regime by creating his films. It’s an act of a true artist, even after having being punished, to have no other option but to create. This film feels symbolic and a reflection of Panahi’s own rage against his home government.

Sentimental Value

Directed by Joachim Trier, starring Renata Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning.

If you like: rich family drama and strong female characters.

The film follows the lives of two daughters and their absent, famous filmmaking father and the house that has been in their family for generations. After a series of events, their father tries to reconnect with them in his own way. The story asks us: Can someone be directed to forgive? Can love be hindered by one’s ability to express it?

Supposedly, Sentimental Value received an 18-minute standing ovation at its Cannes screening. And as the credits began to roll at the end of the screening at Sydney Film Festival, I understood why. The cast, editing and score is phenomenal. The movie is a masterpiece that will break, and then heal, your heart. You cannot miss this.