Submissions for the 2027 Sydney Film Festival are officially open, and filmmakers from Australia and around the world are invited to submit their latest works for consideration.
Successful applicants will be eligible to be entered into a prize pool worth $205,000, an amount described as the biggest prize pool in the festival’s history.
Sydney Film Festival 2027 – quick links
What to know about the Sydney Film Festival 2027
As shared, the festival prize pool is headlined by the prestigious Sydney Film Prize, worth $60,000.
Filmmakers will also be able to compete for the Sustainable Future Award, which spotlights environmental films; the First Nations Award, offering the largest cash prize for First Nations filmmakers; the Documentary Australia Award; the five Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films; and the Sydney-UNESCO City of Film Award, given to a ‘trailblazing’ NSW-based screen practitioner.
As the Sydney Film Festival team says, recognition during the festival is very notable. It’s Australia’s only International Federation of Film Producers Associations accredited festival, and an Academy Award qualifying festival. Films spotlighted in previous years have gone on to significant success, buoyed by early festival appearances.
‘For more than 70 years, Sydney Film Festival has connected bold filmmakers with audiences ready to discover new work,’ Nashen Moodley, Sydney Film Festival Director, says.
‘Offering our biggest prize pool yet, including an increased First Nations Award, is a clear commitment to the artists who make this festival what it is. We can’t wait to discover the films that will shape the 2027 program.’
How to submit your films to the Sydney Film Festival 2027
As the Sydney Film Festival team shared, submissions to the annual show are open via FilmFreeway until 26 February 2027.
Features and documentary screen projects of any length can be submitted to the following categories:
- Australian Features (fiction over 40 minutes)
- International Features (over 40 minutes)
- Documentary Australia Award (any length)
- Sydney Film Festival First Nations Award
- Sustainable Future Award
- Screenability Program for filmmakers living with disability
International short filmmakers are also encouraged to submit for the following categories:
- FLUX: Art+Film (innovative, avant-garde or experimental works under 15 minutes)
- Freak Me Out (horror, action or cult arthouse works under 15 minutes)
Every full-length film selected for the festival is eligible for the official competition, and enters the running for the Sydney Film Prize.
Submissions to the Sydney Film Festival are open to 26 February 2027 via FilmFreeway.
Also on ScreenHub: Sydney game developers gather at Waypoint Constellations 2026
Waypoint Constellations 2026 took place at the Sydney Opera House, with an associated sense of grandeur and importance. It was a chance for Sydney’s local game development community to gather together and learn more about each other – what projects are in the works and what lessons have been learned along the way.
Within SOH’s Studio, various local developers shared builds of their latest games against a backdrop of a live orchestra performing tunes from Australian-made games, as well as insightful talks from a diverse array of speakers. Waypoint Constellations provided a much-needed chance for the Sydney game development scene to shine.
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