The cooler weather has brought an autumnal treat for Sydneysiders, as the first taste of the 72nd Sydney Film Festival is served up. SFF 2025 runs from 4 to 15 June.
Fresh from Berlinale, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, Gabriel Mascaro’s dystopian The Blue Trail leads a strong selection of at least a dozen Australian premieres.
In the End sees director Joshua Oppenheimer make his narrative debut with a post-apocalyptic musical set in an underground compound, starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon.
Among the documentary highlights are Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao e Rua – Two Worlds, a brand-new First Nations feature, and the Sundance-selected Speak. Other standouts include One to One: John & Yoko, Make It Look Real—which explores the work of intimacy coordinators—and the previously announced evening with Warren Ellis, coinciding with Ellis Park.
Australian features include Fwends, the debut feature from Sophie Somerville, and the award-winning animated Lesbian Space Princess, both set to premiere at this year’s festival.
A list of the announced films so far is below, or you can check the festival website. The full program and tickets will be available from 7 May 2025.
FEATURES
THE BLUE TRAIL
Dir. Gabriel Mascaro | Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Chile | 86 mins | In Portuguese with English subtitles | Australian premiere
BRING THEM DOWN
Dir. Christopher Andrews | Ireland | 105 mins | In English and Irish Gaelic with English subtitles | Australian premiere
DJ AHMET
Dir. Georgi M. Unkovski | North Macedonia | 99 mins | In Turkish and Macedonian with English subtitles | Australian premiere
THE END
Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer | Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, UK, Sweden, USA | 148 mins | In English | Australian premiere
FWENDS
Dir. Sophie Somerville | Australia | 92 mins | In English and French with English subtitles | Australian premiere
LESBIAN SPACE PRINCESS
Dir. Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs | Australia | 86 mins | In English | Australian premiere
OBEX
Dir. Albert Birney | United States | 90 mins | In English | Australian premiere
ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL
Dir. Rungano Nyoni | Zambia, United Kingdom, Ireland | 99 mins | In Bemba and English with English subtitles | NSW premiere
STRANGER EYES
Dir. Yeo Siew Hua | Singapore, Taiwan, France, United States | 126 mins | In Mandarin with English subtitles | Australian premiere
DOCUMENTARIES
EXERGUE – ON DOCUMENTA 14
Dir. Dimitris Athiridis | Greece | 848 mins | In English | Australian premiere
FARMING THE REVOLUTION
Dir. Nishtha Jain | India, France, Norway | 100 mins | In Punjabi and Hindi with English subtitles | NSW premiere
MAKE IT LOOK REAL
Dir. Kate Blackmore | Australia | 78 mins | In English | NSW premiere
MARLON WILLIAMS NGĀ AO E RUA – TWO WORLDS
Dir. Ursula Grace Williams | New Zealand | 92 mins | In English and Māori with English subtitles | Australian premiere
MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN
Dir. David Borenstein | Denmark, Czech Republic | 90 mins | In Russian with English subtitles | Australian premiere
ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO
Dir. Kevin Macdonald | United Kingdom | 100 mins | In English | Australian premiere
SPEAK.
Dir. Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera | United States | 103 mins | In English | Premiere status TBD
