The full line-up for Sydney Film Festival 2026 has been revealed, with a host of international and local debut features, classic screenings and documentaries joining the showcase.
The festival runs from 3 to 14 June at cinemas across Sydney. This year’s program also includes curated selections exploring the world of fashion, environmental issues, disability on screen, the power of music, women’s voices, the value of Indigenous representation, and more.
‘Art and cinema help us make sense of the world, take us into the lives of people far away from us, and remind us to remain vigilant about our own rights and freedoms,’ said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. ‘And we can’t forget, they’re also an enormous source of joy.’
With that in mind, here are nine major feature films that are well worth checking out.
Sydney Film Festival 2026 highlights – quick links
Leviticus
Director: Adrian Chiarella
Starring: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska
Australia has made a name for itself in the horror genre over the last decade, with many compelling films offering fresh new takes on mythology and parable. Leviticus looks entirely terrifying, with horror winding through a story of queer love.
Set in regional Victoria, it film follows two queer teenage boys who are subjected to a Christian conversion ritual, but it unlocks a malevolent entity that takes the form of their desires.
The Death of Robin Hood
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, Noah Jupe
Hugh Jackman stars as the ageing Robin Hood in this historical action film, which is focused on the outlaw’s final days. While tragic by nature, there’s plenty of early buzz about this new look at the folk hero, as well as curiosity about what Jackman does with his performance.
Here, he plays Robin Hood as a worn-down outlaw who finds himself confronting the consequences of his violent past. Gravely injured, he is cared for by a mysterious woman who offers him a final chance at redemption.
Erupcja
Director: Pete Ohs
Starring: Charlie XCX, Will Madden, Lena Góra
While pop star Charlie XCX has dabbled in film acting before, Erupcja marks her feature debut, with the added weight of it being co-written and co-produced by the star. Early reviews are full of bright praise for the film, which follows a couple whose Warsaw vacation is disrupted by a volcanic eruption, prompting them to reconnect with childhood friends.
The Invite
Director: Olivia Wilde
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton
In The Invite, a couple’s noisy dinner party sparks a dispute with a neighbour that spirals into a night of confrontation and sexual tension.
Known mostly for her acting, Olivia Wilde has flourished as a director in recent years, with a string of films from Booksmart to Don’t Worry Darling presenting lush takes on the world and its many strange inhabitants. The Invite looks to continue that tradition with a stacked cast of actors exploring the messy nature of relationships.
Pressure
Director: Anthony Maras
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Andrew Scott, Kerry Condon
Australian filmmaker Anthony Maras is at the helm of this historical drama, which focuses on one unique skirmish in the D-Day Normandy landings in 1944.
Set over the critical 72 hours in the lead up to D-Day, Pressure follows British meteorologist James Stagg and US General Dwight D Eisenhower as they weigh a pivotal decision: proceed with the largest amphibious invasion in history or delay due to volatile weather conditions that could doom the operation.
While war has been done to death as a subject of filmic exploration, anything Brendan Fraser does during his career resurgence is worth watching.
The Fox
Director: Dario Russo
Starring: Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Damon Herriman, Olivia Colman, Sam Neill
The Fox promises a darkly comic folktale about a frustrated man who meets a talking fox, which offers to transform his partner into the ‘perfect’ woman.
Jai Courtney and Emily Browning are two of Australia’s most talented, but perhaps underrated, actors. They tend to make a big impression – Courtney most recently in Dangerous Animals and Browning in One More Shot – and we’re keen to see what they do with this oddball premise, which could make for an entirely fun film, or a deeply horrific one.
Dead Man’s Wire
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery
Dead Man’s Wire is a fictionalised version of a real‑life hostage incident in Indianapolis, which saw Tony Kiritsis wire a shotgun to a banker’s neck. Broadcast live, the 63‑hour standoff became a national sensation.
While this dramatic take on the Kiritsis hostage crisis presents real intrigue, this film from Gus Van Sant also includes strong talent, including Bill Skarsgård and Australian actor Dacre Montgomery.
Fjord
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve
Sebastian Stan, much like Brendan Fraser, is making some very quirky, well-curated choices about his next steps into the film world. Being so well known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes it hard to shake expectations, but with recent choices like The Apprentice, A Different Man and now Fjord, Stan is consistently proving that his talent goes beyond playing a super soldier.
In this tense drama, a devoutly Christian couple relocate from Romania to a Norwegian fjord with their five children. When their eldest daughter, Elia, turns up at school with bruises, they must face intense scrutiny from the community about their conservative parenting methods.
The Man I Love
Director: Ira Sachs
Starring: Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Rami Malek has proven himself as a strong leading man with dazzling turns in Bohemian Rhapsody and, for the nostalgic cinema savant, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. Paired with the excellent Tom Sturridge, fresh off The Sandman, the wonderful Rebecca Hall, and the ever-flexible Ebon Moss-Bachrach, this cast should shine brightly on screen.
The Man I Love is set in 80s New York against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis. Facing death, the iconic performer Jimmy George channels his thirst to live into one final, passionate role.
