Sydney Film Festival

Sydney Film Festival is far more than just screenings (although there are over 300 of those each year!). There's a huge range of other events that wrap around the films, adding extra dimensions to enhance your enjoyment and understanding of why we share a passion for cinema.From simple talks and Q&A sessions with filmmakers to red-carpet premieres, panel discussions and themed parties, there's a lot to do and see and hear before and after the curtain goes up. Unique events like Gourmet Cinema perfectly pairs fine dining with foodie films. The Ian McPherson Memorial Lecture series sees David Stratton in conversation with a different major film industry identity each year. The Hub is packed with interesting events both upstairs in the Treasury Room and downstairs in the bar. In this part of the site you can check out all these wider offerings, so take your time to plan out your total festival experience.

Sydney Film Festival is one of the world's longest-running film festivals, and is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar. The 12-day Festival screens feature films, documentaries, short films and animation from around the world in venues across the city including the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays, the Art Gallery of NSW, the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace in Cremorne, Dendy Newtown, Casula Powerhouse and the Skyline Drive-In Blacktown. SFF also takes place at Apple Store Sydney. The Sydney Film Festival Hub at Town Hall features exhibitions, talks, parties, entertainment, a discount ticket booth and more.

The flagship program of Sydney Film Festival is the Official Competition, which was established in 2008 and celebrates 'courageous, audacious and cutting-edge' cinema. The Sydney Film Prize and $60,000 cash is awarded by a jury of five Australian and international filmmakers and industry professionals to the winner among the 12 titles selected for the Official Competition. The Official Competition is endorsed by Federation Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films.

Sydney Film Festival encourages and supports excellence in Australian filmmaking via the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Best Australian Documentary and the long-running Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films. Other awards given to films screening at the Festival are the Event Cinemas Australian Short Screenplay Award and the Foxtel Movies Audience Awards.

The Sydney Film Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Screen NSW, the Federal Government through Screen Australia, and the City of Sydney. The festival's Strategic Partner is the NSW Government through Destination NSW.

Sydney Film Festival operates year-round via the Travelling Film Festival, Australia's longest-running touring event, which visits 19 different regional locations around the country.