Happy New Year from the SFF team and welcome to 2025! We’re already deep in preparation to bring you the 72nd edition of the Sydney Film Festival on 4-15 June – and it’s going to be an unmissable year.
Here are the key dates to look forward to. Click the dates below to add them individually to your calendar or add them all.
Now: Flexipasses on sale! See more films at the best value. Feb 12: Subscriptions go on sale for renewing Subscribers. Mar 12: Subscriptions go on sale for everyone. Secure your own special State Theatre seat for the whole Festival. Apr 2: Sneak peek! We announce the first films of the Festival. Apr – May: More films announced including our Opening Night film and Gala! May 7: Full program announced and on sale (Flexipass holders get first dibs!) Jun 4 – 15: The 72nd Sydney Film Festival
SECURE YOUR INVITE TO OUR NEXT SPECIAL EVENT
Flexipass holders were treated to an exclusive free screening of Golden Globe nominee NICKEL BOYS last month, featuring complementary drinks and an introduction by the film’s production designer, Nora Mendis. Don’t want to miss out on an invite to the next special event? Secure your 2025 Flexipass now.
PUT YOURSELF IN THIS SCENE
Are you the next George Miller, Peter Weir or Patricia Lovell (pictured above at SFF 1983 with former Festival Director David Stratton)? Make it happen! Submit your film to the 72nd Sydney Film Festival and put yourself in this scene.
🚨 TICKET GIVEAWAYS 🚨
WIN! BABYGIRL
A high-powered CEO (Nicole Kidman, Best Actress at the Venice Biennale) puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern. BABYGIRL stars Kidman alongside Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas. In cinemas from 30 January. Enter to win one of 10 double passes.
WIN! BIRD
Andrea Arnold (Wuthering Heights, SFF 2012; Cow, SFF 2021) returns with a touching tale about an imaginative 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams), who seeks attention and adventure away from her single dad Bug (Barry Keoghan). In cinemas 20 February. Enter to win one of five double passes.
WIN! MARIA
Step into the extraordinary world of Maria, where Angelina Jolie delivers a captivating performance as the legendary Maria Callas. This highly anticipated biopic and strong Oscar favourite gives you the chance to see Jolie bring the legendary opera icon back to life on the big screen! In cinemas 30 January. Enter to win one of five double passes.
WIN! GRAND TOUR
Winner of Cannes Best Director and acclaimed at SFF 2024, GRAND TOUR follows a runaway groom in a pursuit across Asia. An era-spanning, genre-bending and continent-crossing odyssey, fuelled by bittersweet love and restless wanderlust – an adventure you won’t want to miss. In cinemas 13 February. Enter to win one of five double passes, courtesy of Potential Films.
FILM FESTIVALS COMING UP
FLICKERFEST
It’s strictly great short films at Flickerfest 2025. Australia’s largest Short Film Festival hits the newly revamped Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach 17–26 January for ten jam-packed days of the best and freshest short cinema from Australia and across the world.
ANTENNA DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
Australia’s leading international non-fiction film festival, has unveiled its full program for 2025. Featuring 50 of the most creative, thought-provoking documentaries from around the globe, over the course of 11 days, Antenna is set to turn Sydney into a doc-lovers’ paradise from 6–16 February.
EUROPA! EUROPA
The annual festival of European cinema returns to Sydney from 12 February – 12 March. Europa! Europa is a place for extraordinary cinema, vibrant storytelling, and bustling community congregation, giving audiences a kaleidoscopic window into the experiences of a diverse continent and people.
MARDI GRAS FILM FESTIVAL
Queer Screen’s 32nd Mardi Gras Film Festival is all about celebrating love—love for stories, love for community, and love for LGBTQIA+ cinema. With over 140 films spanning romance, passion, and everything in between, it’s the perfect reason to grab your date, your mates, or fly solo and experience love from 13–27 February.
