If your June social calendar is looking a little empty right now, the 73rd Sydney Film Festival is ready to fill it with the perfect excuse to sit in a dark room not speaking, or to brush up on your cultural capital so you can lead your office's next film conversation like a proper cinephile.
Last year we couldn't get enough of the lineup (and writer Jordan Turner screened and reviewed a full 12 films for RUSSH), so needless to say we're gearing up for another movie-watching marathon in 2026. Here's everything you need to know (and our recs for what to watch):
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What films are screening?
More than 200 films are set to screen, and the first 13 announced titles were just announced overnight:
- The Best Summer
- Silenced
- The Valley
- Dead Man’s Wire
- Broken English
- Silent Friend
- The Blood Countess
- Erupcja
- Yellow Letters
- Filipiñana
- El Sett
- Memory of Princess Mumbi
- Past Future Continuous
What we'd recommend watching
Of course, not to be missed is Pete Ohs' Erupcja follows a couple’s getaway to Warsaw that begins to unravel, led by Charli XCX.
We'll watch just about anything with a Skarsgård in it and Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire, which revisits a real 1977 hostage crisis, stars Bill Skarsgård alongside the legendary Al Pacino.
Aussie flick Silenced looks at the legal fallout of the #MeToo movement through the work of lawyer Jennifer Robinson and survivors including Brittany Higgins and Amber Heard.
The Blood Countess leans fully into its premise, casting Isabelle Huppert as a campy vampire in a film that pairs horror with high-fashion sensibilities.
90s music aficionados better buckle in for The Best Summer, which digs into Australia’s 1995 Summersault tour, with footage of the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, and Foo Fighters.
Further music education can be sought with a screening of Broken English reflects on Marianne Faithfull’s life and career.
When is it?
It's running from 3–14 June at several venues across Sydney, with the flagship location being the historic State Theatre on Market Street. But you'll be able to catch screenings at various cinemas in the CBD, Newtown, Cremorne, and Randwick.
When does the rest of the program drop?
The full program arrives on 6 May.
When are tickets on sale?
Tickets for individual sessions will go on sale via the Sydney Film Festival website from 6 May (the same day as the full program is released).
