PREVIEW: 2025 SYDNEY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL

The 2025 Sydney Underground Film Festival (SUFF) hits Sydney next month for its annual celebration of bold, boundary-pushing independent cinema. The madness unfolds for the 19th time at Dendy Newtown from the 11th to 14th September.

“Underground film at its best doesn’t just break rules — it reimagines what cinema can be,” says Festival Director Nathan Senn. “This year, SUFF celebrates the artists who are doing just that: fearless female filmmakers, radical Australian auteurs, and emerging voices who aren’t asking for permission — they’re forging new cinematic languages. At a time when sameness dominates, SUFF takes pride in being a home for the strange, the subversive, and the gloriously unclassifiable.” 

Opening Night kicks up its heels with the Australian Premiere of Queens Of The Dead (pictured, right) from breakout director Tina Romero, daughter of zombie cinema royalty George A. Romero, whose riotous, blood-splattered horror-comedy  slays with equal parts camp, rage, and community.

Closing Night presents the Australian Premiere of the award-winning Fucktoys (pictured, below) with special post-screening Q&A from director/writer Annapurna Sriram, whose candy-coated descent into chaos proves that sexploitation can have heart, glamour, and soul – while still being totally unhinged.

Retrospectives play a huge role in this year’s line-up. The scratch n’ sniff experience returns with Scented Storytelling and Snivure co-presenting Jay Levey’s wacky cult comedy UHF (1989), starring “Weird Al” Yankovic as a dreamer with a wild imagination and zero direction – until he’s handed the keys to a failing UHF television station; roller-disco renegade and Olivia Newton-John devotee MAYNARD presents the 45th Anniversary special remastered screening of the psychedelic fantasy Xanadu (1980); and, the 30th anniversary of Tom DiCillo’s Living in Oblivion (1995) has inspired a special Movie Bingo screening of this sharp, surreal satire of indie filmmaking gone hilariously off the rails.

Documentaries celebrating fearless voices, radical creativity, and stories that challenge the status quo include Yellow House Afghanistan, capturing art’s survival under Taliban rule; The Degenerate: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan resurrecting grindhouse icon Andy Milligan in a special double-feature; Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt diving into punk chaos; Food Delivery revealing frontline defiance in the West Philippine Sea; Exorcismo exploring Spain’s taboo-smashing cinema; and, Coexistence, My Ass! (pictured, top), following Israeli-Persian actor-turned-activist-comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi’s one-woman show in the face of the deepening Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

Features include Anything That Moves, a psychosexual dark comedy thriller soaked in sex, style and splatter; blood-drenched and brain-melting retro exploitation horror Pater Noster and the Mission of Light; Craig Alexander & Shelly Higgs’ ambitiously dark comedy Snatchers;  Yoshihiro Nishimura’s explorative fever dream of Japan’s darkest urban legend, Tokyo Evil Hotel; Jim Hosking’s surreal odyssey of absurdity and chaos, Ebony And Ivory; and Joe Begos’ hallucinatory grindhouse inspired splatterfest, Jimmy And Stiggs (pictured, left).

The festival’s iconic short film sidebars return, including mini-movies to warp your mind in LSD FACTORY; a package not for the faint-of-heart in WTF!; expressions of sexuality in all its forms in LOVE/SICK; genre-crossing shorts from the vanguard renegades of Australian independent cinema in HOMEBAKED SHORTS; and eye-opening bite-sized documentaries that traverse the personal to the global in STRANGER THAN FICTION.

Ticket details and session times for 19^th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival are available at the event’s official website.

PREVIEW: 2025 AFRICA FILM FEST AUSTRALIA

Arts & Cultural Exchange (ACE) and a dedicated team of African Australian curators have announced the full program for the 2025 Africa Film Fest Australia (AFFA). The expansive showcase of contemporary African cinema, culture and creativity unfolds September 4-7 at iconic venues including the Sydney Opera House and Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres.

“This year’s program is a celebration of creativity and resilience across the continent and its diaspora,” said Festival Co-Director Safia Amadou. “We’re thrilled to share a bold and wide-ranging selection of films that honour the joy, complexity and cultural power of African storytelling. These are stories that stay with you - urgent, emotional, imaginative, and always grounded in lived experience.”

The Festival opens at the Sydney Opera House with the Australian premiere of I Do Not Come to You by Chance (pictured, above), by Ishaya Bako, a gripping Nigerian comedy-drama based on Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s acclaimed novel. The film follows Kingsley, a university graduate pulled into a morally complex world where opportunity and exploitation go hand-in-hand.

Also at the Sydney Opera House is the Australian Premiere of the feature Fanon (pictured, right) directed by Jean-Claude Barny, which explores the radical political awakening of renowned post-colonial Martinican-born philosopher and psychiatrist Frantz Fanon in 1950s Algeria.

The program of features includes Yasemin Samdereli’s Samia, winner of the best feature film and best actress at Morocco’s Dakhla International Film Festival, a stirring biopic of Somali Olympic runner Samia Yusuf Omar; multi award winning film Nawi: Dear Future Me, which tackles child marriage and the fight for education in rural Turkana; and Imran Hamdulay’s The Heart is a Muscle, a South African film in which a father’s violent past resurfaces after a harrowing case of mistaken retribution.

The festival’s documentary program includes French-Tunisian filmmaker Hind Meddeb’s Sudan, Remember Us (pictured, right), featuring a poetic and urgent chorus of Sudanese youth activists whose words fuel the 2019 revolution; and Manuel Loureiro’s and Roger Mo’s Nteregu, a lyrical documentary that traces Guinea-Bissau’s rich musical lineage, from ancestral drum traditions to diaspora soundscapes, with women firmly at its centre.

The festival also presents Creating New Worlds, a two-day comics and visual storytelling workshop for African Australians aged 16–25, hosted by the University of Technology Sydney. Led by Nigerian animation director Somto Ajuluchukwu and Sydney-based illustrator Steph Martei, participants will explore the principles of world-building, character development and African futurism, while learning how to craft authentic visual narratives.

The festival will close with the Australian Premiere of Zoey Martinson’s comedy The Fisherman, in which a retired coastal fisherman finds an unlikely companion in a talking fish. The film made history at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024 as Ghana’s first official selection at the festival and received the prestigious Fellini Medal.

AFFA 2025 runs from 4 September to 7 September at venues across Sydney. Tickets and program information are available at the event’s official website.

PREVIEW: 2025 HURTIGRUTEN SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL

The 2025 Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival will present new cinema from the Nordic region to Australian audiences, unveiling a diverse and thought–provoking selection from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.

Opening the 2025 Festival is NUMBER 24 (Nr. 24), from multi award-winning director John Andreas Andersen. This gripping Norwegian spy drama depicts the extraordinary true story of an ‘every-man’ drawn into the resistance movement during World War II.

Direct from the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the coveted Grand Prix, is SENTIMENTAL VALUE, from director Joachim Trier. Reuniting him with star Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World), the intimate drama also stars Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning in a moving exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.   

2025’s Special Presentation is QUISLING: THE FINAL DAYS (Quislings siste dager). Set in 1945 Norway, this provocative drama from acclaimed director Erik Poppe follows the post-liberation trial of the country’s infamous and controversial head of state, Vidkun Quisling.

A box office sensation in Iceland, black comedy GRAND FINALE (Fullt hús) is this year’s Closing Night film. Featuring an all-star Icelandic ensemble cast, this entertaining tale revolves around a near-bankrupt chamber orchestra in Reykjavik who try to secure their future with a world-famous cellist. 

Also from Iceland is the visually stunning drama THE MOUNTAIN (Fjallið), starring Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney (daughter of singer Björk and artist Matthew Barney) in her first feature role - a coming-of-age story that explores how a road trip to the Icelandic highlands offers comfort to a family whose life has been upended. And ODD FISH (Ljósvíkingar) in which two childhood friends get a long-awaited opportunity to run their seafood restaurant all year round yet face unexpected personal challenges.

From Denmark comes the drama SECOND VICTIMS (Det andet offer), starring Festival favourites Trine Dyrholm and Özlem Saglanmak, which follows a neurologist on a shift that will change her life forever. Direct from the 2025 Göteborg Film Festival, the poignant drama THE LAST PARADISE ON EARTH (Seinasta paradís á jørð; pictured, right) is a moving exploration of identity, grief, and longing set against the majestic Faroe Islands. 

Based on the incredible true story of Denmark’s biggest-ever robbery, THE QUIET ONES (De lydløse) follows a group of criminals in their heist preparations and stars Gustav Giese, Reda Kateb, Christopher Wagelin and Amanda Collin. From director Charlotte Sieling and starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas, WAY HOME (Vejen hjem) is a gripping drama set in war-torn Syria that posits how far a Danish father is willing to go to save the people he loves.

From Finland, debut director Paula Korva’s comedy/drama SUDDEN OUTBURSTS OF EMOTIONS (Kenraaliharjoitus; pictured, top) is the story of an ordinary couple who decide to open their relationship to reignite their passion. The entertaining comedy from Mika Kaurismäki LONG GOOD THURSDAY (Mielensäpahoittajan rakkaustarina) sees the return of Finnish comedy icon Heikki Kinnunen as the fur-hatted ‘The Grump’, whose life is awakened when he falls in love. Also guaranteed to deliver a laugh is Finnish box office hit 100 LITRES OF GOLD (100 litraa Sahtia), the story of a pair of beer-brewing sisters and a tribute to the small provinces, local pride and the liquid gold traditional brew of Finland.

From celebrated director Klaus Härö comes gripping true story NEVER ALONE (Ei koskaan yksin; pictured, right), shining a light on the plight of Jewish refugees who sought sanctuary in Finland during WWII. From Norway is the delightful debut feature from Egil Pedersen, MY FATHER’S DAUGHTER, (Biru Unjárga), in which a Sámi teenager’s life dramatically shifts when her true father emerges; while MY UNCLE JENS (Onkel Jens), follows the upending of a young teacher’s life in Oslo when his Kurdish uncle comes to stay.

Sweden’s LIVE A LITTLE (Leva Lite) follows two friends on a couch surfing adventure across Europe, navigating uncertainty and intimacy as they strive to find themselves. And in a tale of cultural clashes, love and arranged marriage, Swedish romantic comedy JALLA! JALLA! celebrates its 25th anniversary, following Roro and Måns as they navigate life – still as fresh as ever in 2025!

Finally, the Festival is thrilled to be screening special encores of WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS (Ljósbrot) which recently won Best Nordic Film at the 2025 Göteborg Film Festival. The poignant drama follows a young woman whose conscience and resilience are tested over the course of a long summer's day in Iceland.

The 2025 Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival will take place from July to August. Tickets are now on sale.

PREVIEW: 2025 HSBC SPANISH FILM FESTIVAL

The 2025 HSBC Spanish Film Festival will be bringing the fiesta to cities around Australia this June with a curated selection of thirty films from Spain and Latin America.

Opening Night honours have gone to the hit comedy SAMANA SUNRISE (Amanece en Samaná; pictured, below), featuring Luis Zahera, María Luisa Mayol, Luis Tosar and Bárbara Santa-Cruz. The story follows two Spanish couples celebrating their 20-year friendship with a trip to a beachside resort in the Dominican Republic, where a confession about the past leads to a reality-shifting ‘Sliding Doors’ moment.

The Centrepiece of the Festival is Marcel Barrena’s highly acclaimed EL 47, winner of five Goya Awards including the coveted Best Film. This biographical drama starring Eduard Fernández follows a bus driver in an act of peaceful dissidence that transformed modern Barcelona during the 1970s.

UNDERCOVER (La infiltrada), co-winner of Best Film at the 2025 Goya Awards, is a gripping crime thriller based on the real-life story of Aranzazu Berradre Marín, the pseudonym for the only police officer in Spanish history to infiltrate the terrorist organisation.

From celebrated auteur Julio Medem comes OCHO (8), a romantic drama that spans a century of Spanish history, tracing Octavio and Adela’s tumultuous and passionate relationship, while mirroring pivotal moments in the country’s history. Based on Elia Barceló's critically acclaimed novel, THE GOLDSMITH’S SECRET (El secreto del orfebre) stars Mario Casas as a goldsmith who revisits his Spanish hometown, reconnecting with a great love affair from 25 years prior.   

Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh and fully funded by NFTs is THE QUIET MAID (Calladita; pictured, right). This compelling class conflict drama follows a Colombian maid working in a luxurious mansion, until she realises how to find her own ways of enjoying the summer. Gripping thriller MARCO, THE INVENTED TRUTH (Marco) stars Eduard Fernández in a standout performance as a charismatic man who spent years harbouring an unimaginable lie.

Icíar Bollaín’s taut drama I AM NEVENKA (Soy Nevenka) explores consent and structures of power and is inspired by the true case of a young woman who courageously reported workplace harassment; Yolanda Centeno’s THE STEPMOTHER’S BOND (Tras el verano) draws on her own life and the fragility of relationships in blended families; and, LITTLE LOVES (Los pequeños amores) is an intense mother-daughter relationship drama from up-and-coming director Celia Rico Clavellino.

The ever-popular Spanish comedy selection includes the No. 1 box office hit WOLFGANG (Wolfgang Extraordinario), a heartwarming comedy that follows a nine-year-old boy forced to live with his newfound father in Barcelona; audience favourite Paco León stars as a carefree man suddenly thrust into fatherhood, in Spanish box office hit BABIES DON’T COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS (Sin instrucciones); and, Dani Rovira leads a stellar ensemble in THE BUS OF LIFE (El bus de la vida), a music-centred, life-affirming journey about a music teacher facing his fears. 

Based on incredible true events, MAY I SPEAK WITH THE ENEMY? (Es el enemigo? La película de Gila; pictured, right) is a sensitive tribute to comedian Miguel Gila, who pioneered stand-up comedy in Spain; in the bittersweet comedy SUMMER IN DECEMBER (Verano en diciembre; pictured, top) four generations of women gather in Madrid for a family reunion; and NO GUILT (Culpa Cero) is a tragicomedy about a successful self-help writer whose life is shaken up when she is accused of plagiarism.

This year’s Cine Latino selection features a strong representation of Argentinian cinema including crime thriller A SILENT DEATH (Una muerte silenciosa), a gripping tale of guilt, suspicion and truth set in 1980s Patagonia; WHAT WE WANTED TO BE (Lo que quisimos ser), heralds the long-awaited return to directing of Alejandro Agresti, along with veteran actors Luis Rubio and Eleonora Wexler who star in this tribute to cinema.

Drawing comparisons to the work of Wes Anderson, quirky thriller EL JOCKEY tells the story of a legendary jockey’s self-destructive behaviour; directed by and starring Adrián Suar, Argentinian box office hit MAZEL TOV is a family drama about forgiveness, sibling rivalry, and coming home. Also family-themed is Mexican/US co-production LAS TRES SISTERS, an adventure comedy about three Mexican-American sisters who embark on an adventure to follow in the footsteps of their grandmother while working to repair their relationships.

Two standout documentaries in this year’s line-up feature a focus on distinctive aspects of Spanish culture - food and music. Winner of the Culinary Zinema Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, MUGARITZ. NO BREAD, NO DESSERT (Mugaritz. Sin pan ni postre) invites the viewer behind the scenes of the Michelin starred restaurant Mugaritz. THE FLAMENCO GUITAR OF YERAI CORTÉS (La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés; pictured, right) is unique musical experience, featuring some spectacular set pieces of flamenco.

 In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the brilliant and highly lauded crime thriller NINE QUEENS (Nueve reinas), the Festival will close with the 4K remastered classic starring festival favourite Ricardo Darín and Gaston Pauls.

The 2025 HSBC Spanish Film Festival will take place nationally from 11 June to 9 July (dates vary by city) in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne, Ballarat, Sydney, Ballina and Byron Bay. Tickets are now on sale at the festival’s official website.

PREVIEW: 2025 SOUTH AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL

The South African Film Festival (SAFF) returns from May 4-31, with a packed program of compelling contemporary films, issue-based discussions, and an organisational support network that includes the learning initiative Education Without Borders. With both in-cinema and online screenings, SAFF brings South Africa's rich storytelling tradition to audiences across Australia and New Zealand.

This year, some of South Africa’s most acclaimed and talked-about films will attract discerning filmgoers, including South Africa’s official Oscar selection, Old Righteous Blues, and the Oscar-nominated short film, The Last Ranger. Films in the 2025 program each shed light on the nation’s cultural diversity, social complexity, and creative heartbeat.

Every film watched helps fund programs in literacy, mathematics, leadership, and mentorship for young South Africans through the South African charity, Education Without Borders. Established in 2002, the EwB program is delivered to over 300 learners across all school grades by 50 university-based tutors, many of whom are EwB graduates. It is based at five sites (schools and community centres) in three townships on the Cape Flats outside Cape Town.

Festival Director, Collins Rex said, “SAFF truly represents the soul of a nation. And in our 7th year we’re doing it with a larger lineup of films than ever before. We can’t wait to share the gems, and a selection of accompanying bonus content, with you.”

These sentiments were echoed by Festival Director, Ricky Human, who said, “Every year, we take great pride in celebrating the inspiring stories of some of the most prestigious South African filmmakers, as well as the fresh and exciting new voices that emerge. We also have some surprises in store, including visits by filmmakers and film subjects.”

SAFF this year includes a total of nine feature films, 11 documentaries, and 13 short films. Old Righteous Blues, directed by Muneera Sallies, is a soulful drama that follows a young man's efforts to reunite his town’s estranged Christmas Choir Band, confronting two decades of pain and division.

The Showerhead (pictured; above, right) examines the work of cartoonist Zapiro, from his period as an anti-apartheid struggle-artist to his enduring role as a progressive commentator and freedom-of-expression champion. Zapiro, aka Jonathan Shapiro, will be in Australia to support the film at select cinema screenings.

A hilarious coming-of-age story, Spud is based on the bestselling novel by John van de Ruit. Set in a boys’ boarding school in the early 1990s, and starring a young Troye Sivan and comedy legend John Cleese, the film has become a cult favourite, celebrated for its charm and poignant look at adolescence in a changing South Africa.

The heartwarming and insightful documentary, The Friendship Bench, tracks the implementation of a unique mental health program:  the deployment of gogos (grandmothers) to counsel those in need of support.  The Sydney in-cinema screening of this film will be followed by a Q & A organised by Corrective Services NSW, who are implementing the program.

For the first time, SAFF is this year supporting the work of a young South African-born Australian filmmaker, Kgomotso Sekhur. Shap Shap (pictured; above, right) tells the story of 13-year-old Mmusi who sets off to the township in search of his father. Along the way, unexpected friendships teach him resilience and hope. And in Kwiksilwers, four elderly friends head off on a road trip to experience a meteor shower in Sutherland, with hilarious consequences and no small measure of pathos.

For Tickets and Venue information, visit the festicial's official website