The Sydney Film Festival is one of the most popular events in Sydney and is held over two weeks in June every year.
As the name suggests, the Sydney Film Festival celebrates local and international films with 12 days of premieres, talks, and events.
Sydney Film Festival 2025 Dates, Tickets, Program & Movie Highlights
With 200+ films at 12 venues over 12 Days, it’s your Festival to do your way. Your city, your celebration of cinema, your community, your new favourite films. See it your way at the Sydney Film Festival, 5-16 June 2024.
Sydney Film Festival takes place at its flagship venue the State Theatre, as well as cinemas in the CBD, Newtown, Cremorne, Randwick, and more, screening films you won’t usually find in the multiplex. 12 films are selected for the Official Competition, which celebrates “courageous, audacious and cutting-edge” cinema with a $60,000 cash prize. Sydney Film Festival also presents eight other cash awards over the course of the festival.
Sydney Film Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Screen NSW; the Federal Government through Screen Australia; and City of Sydney the Festival’s Principal Local Government Partner. Sydney Film Festival also runs the Travelling Film Festival year-round, taking the best of international and Australian cinema to 22 regional centres around the country.
In 2025, Sydney Film Festival turns 72. Sydney will experience big feels with extraordinary cinema, red carpets, talks and parties with filmmakers all across Sydney including the iconic State Theatre.
Storytelling has always been crucial for comprehending and navigating challenging times because the empathy embedded within stories connects us deeply to one another. When we experience these stories together in a packed cinema, that feeling of community is even more pronounced.
SFF is proud to offer a stage for emerging talent and established filmmakers from diverse cultural backgrounds whose viewpoints might otherwise go unseen. There’s never been a better time for us to listen to one another and to experience the sheer multiplicity of voices across the more than 200 films from 69 countries that SFF presented this year.
These films will generate a wide range of reactions and interpretations. We all share a responsibility to be respectful of other opinions and ensure that everyone involved with the Festival has a positive experience.
This year, more than ever, we encourage you to get out of your comfort zone, engage in constructive dialogue, and be inspired and challenged by the films you see.
There is so much going on during the festival that it’s impossible to mention all of the films and events here. Please check out the official event program for a full list of movies, dates, times, venues, and prices.
Festival Hub
The Hub at Lower Town Hall puts the Festival in Sydney Film Festival. Drop in for a drink between films, grab a bite, and enjoy a swathe of special events, talks and parties. This is where you can celebrate cinema, debate your new favourite films, and meet the filmmakers this June.
Enjoy Happy Hour specials on selected beverages between 4:30pm and 6pm each day of the Festival.
SFFTV at Martin Place
SFFTV, Sydney Film Festival’s giant outdoor screen in Martin Place, is Sydney’s biggest celebration of cinema spilling onto the streets – and is proudly presented by Norwegian Cruise Line. See free screenings of acclaimed and arresting short films from Australia and worldwide, sneak previews of SFF 2025 films, and other special activations.
Whether passing through or settling in, drop by between Pitt and Castlereagh St for a captivating film experience.
Tune into a specially curated collection of shorts each day between 12pm – 2pm, and again at 6:30pm – 7:30pm, or any time between 8am and 10pm for an array of shorts, previews, and other special activations from our partners.
Vote in the GIO Audience Awards
The GIO Audience Awards for Best International Narrative Feature, Best International Documentary, Best Australian Narrative Feature and Best Australian Documentary are announced after the Festival.
Rate the feature-length films you see, and you could win the chance to host your own private screening of an Audience Award-winning film courtesy of GIO or other fantastic prizes.
Awards
As well as presenting the best filmmaking from around the world, the Sydney Film Festival celebrates the remarkable talents of emerging and esteemed filmmakers with the presentation of 10 illustrious awards – and in 2025, will award a record-breaking prize pool of $200,000.
Handed out by an independent jury, SFF’s awards have provided momentum for filmmakers’ careers for decades.
Festival-goers are also invited to cast their own votes in the GIO Audience Awards, which offer fabulous prizes.
Good afternoon.
Has the Australian movie RUBY’s CHOICE, with Director Michael Budd been entered into Sydney Film Festival.
kind regards,
Sylvana Vandertouw
Hi Sylvana,
I have reviewed the movie list at https://www.sff.org.au/program/a-z/?type=Film&type=Event, but I can’t see any reference to “Ruby’s Choice”.
Be that submissions for the festival closed back at the end of March, I don’t think it will be part of the festival – that’s unless the organisers are staggering out the release of the movie titles (as i don’t believe there was this many movies when I looked a week ago).
All I can suggest is to keep checking back on that link above to see if it has been added in the coming weeks.
Thanks
Michael