Welcome to the very first episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast for 2026! It’s great to be back. It wasn’t until the back end of 2025 that I realised how few episodes of this Podcast I recorded last year with a focus on more written interviews. I’m going to make it a priority in 2026…
Central Queensland’s premier screen arts event, the Capricorn Film Festival, returns to Yeppoon next week from 15–18 January 2026, kicking off four days of films, filmmaker talks and creative events — all celebrating 10 years of storytelling on the Capricorn Coast. Supported by Keppel Coast Arts, Livingstone Shire Council, Screen Queensland, Tourism and Events Queensland, and Bishopp, the festival will…
by Matthew Eeles 2025 saw only a few new films from Australian filmmaking heavyweights. Bruce Beresford’s The Travellers, Justin Kurzel’s Ellis Park and Robert Connolly’s Magic Beach are the only ones that come to mind. (Even though it enjoyed a festival screening, Warwick Thornton’s Wolfram isn’t officially due for release until next year, so I’m…
Central Queensland’s premier screen arts event, the Capricorn Film Festival, will return to Yeppoon from 15–18 January 2026, marking a major milestone as the festival celebrates 10 years of championing film, creativity and community on the Capricorn Coast. Presented by Keppel Coast Arts, and supported by Livingstone Shire Council, Screen Queensland, Tourism Events Queensland, Bishopp and a broad network of regional…
Production has begun in South Australia on the supernatural horror feature film Ruby, Ruby – from director Ursula Dabrowksy and producer Antony I. Ginnane. Supported by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) and in association with Headgear Films and Arterial Films, Ruby, Ruby marks the fourth horror project for Dabrowsky, a pseudonym of Barossa Valley…
YAS Studio is set to become Melbourne’s first dedicated multi-disciplinary youth screen studio, with the launch of YAS Studio in Kensington in February 2026. For YAS Studio founder and acting teacher Daniel Fischer, the vision is clear: build a highly credible, industry-connected creative environment that empowers young people to explore, express and grow, while establishing…
Roaring Entertainment has announced a strategic relaunch into distribution across Australia and New Zealand, introducing a theatrical model built around early producer engagement, data-led audience strategy and a risk-sharing finance structure designed to strengthen release outcomes for Australian features. Previously operating as a Queensland-based production company, Roaring’s leadership now comprises Daniel Mulvihill (Theatrical and Sales),…
Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund (AFFIF) and Pride Foundation Australia (PFA) today announced that recipient of the inaugural AFF/APF Short Film Initiative grant is The Night Moses Died, written by Lilah Benetti and Maxine Ellah and to be directed by Lilah Benetti and produced by Mimo Mukii. Lilah Benetti (they/them) is a queer, Black, trans non-binary…
In the lead up to its world premiere at Horror-on-Sea, upcoming psycho -horror film, Lenore, has released it’s terrifying first official trailer, giving audiences a glimpse at was has been described as “a masterclass in techno-gothic storytelling” and “the perfect ghost story for the digital age.” The debut feature of writer and director David Ward,…
Rialto Distribution has announced that the new Australian musical The Deb will hit cinemas nationwide from January 15, with the official trailer now available. Set in the drought-stricken town of Dunburn, The Deb follows big-hearted farm girl Taylah Simpkins, whose dreams of shining at the annual Debutante Ball are turned upside down by her sharp-witted city cousin Maeve. …
Cinema Australia is thrilled to introduce readers to the ensemble cast of Matthew Holmes’ new film, The Sundowner. Telling the story of a war-scarred swagman who is forced on the run after becoming implicated in a brutal murder in the blistering outback of 1934, The Sundowner unites a large ensemble cast that blends award-winning Australian…
Actor Daniel Fischer opens YAS Studio in February 2026, giving young people a creative home to explore acting, animation, filmmaking and photography. Melbourne is about to gain its first dedicated multi-disciplinary youth screen studio, with the launch of YAS Studio in Kensington in February 2026. Construction on the new creative space is currently underway, with…
It’s hard to believe that Kostadinos Hatzivalsamis’ new film Tracy is the first narrative feature made about Cyclone Tracy — the tragic and devastating natural disaster that struck Darwin on Christmas Day in 1974. Considering Australia’s adoration for films based on true events (Chopper, Red Dog and Rabbit-Proof Fence come to mind), and considering the…
An astral traveller and a detective risk everything to save a child from the clutches of a rogue demon in Dean Butler’s Terror by Night, which is now available to stream below via Alter. The film concludes the Evenfall trilogy, which began with Evenfall and continued with A Shadow in the Darkness. Shadow proved a…
Mitchell Holland’s award-winning thriller Unboxing has officially arrived on Prime Video, inviting audiences into a dark, suspense driven mystery where internet fame comes at the ultimate cost. Winner of the ABC iView Pitch Competition at Melbourne WebFest 2019, Unboxing follows Tom Faker (played by Holland), a wannabe streamer hungry for fame, who orders a ‘mystery…
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