Renegade independent cinema, like Davo Hardy’s erotic dramedy Mothers, Lovers and Others, is generally not regarded as ‘safe’ for winning the favour of film festivals. This unconventional, dialogue-heavy melodrama opens at an orgy, contains explicit sex scenes and juggles multiple plotlines for a solid 135-minute runtime. Around the quirky ensemble cast of unknown actors, there…
After Bark – Flying Bark’s live action label – has announced that it will collaborate with Mad Ones Films and Minor Realm on It’s All Going Very Well… the first project to be officially released under the After Bark banner since the division’s launch in 2022. Written, directed and led by acclaimed South Australian actress…
Interview: James Robert Woods Sydney-based production house Badlands is venturing into the distribution space with the rollout of its critically acclaimed feature The Birthday Trip. Previously known as Moonrise Over Knights Hill, the unflinchingly funny drama following three millennial couples whose relationships are thrown into disarray when they descend on a Southern Highlands farmstay for…
Sean Bell’s Electric Feel is a personal and ambitious leap into feature filmmaking Cinema Australia is thrilled to give readers an exclusive first-look at Sean Bell’s dystopian sci-fi drama, Electric Feel. The upcoming film follows Jane (played by newcomer Naomi Belet), who is addicted to a public TV broadcast scientifically engineered to reduce depression and…
Celebrated Australian actors Steve Le Marquand and Pippa Grandison will present a special acting masterclass at the 2026 WA Made Film Festival. This practical session encourages actors to deepen their connection to the text and to each other through two-handed scene work, using contemporary film, television and theatre scripts. Scenes will be provided in advance,…
A new trailer has dropped for The Rules of the Game, a new horror thriller from directors JD Cohen and Lani Castle. Here’s the synopsis: On the dark web where users bet on who will win, a talented chess player is kidnapped and thrown into a game where she is one of the pieces, and…
Stellar Short Film Festival has unveiled its Stellar 12 finalists for 2026, cementing its reputation as Australia’s only invitation-only short film festival and one of the country’s most distinctive celebrations of short-form cinema. Following a sold-out event of 1,200 attendees in 2025, strong early ticket sales indicate Stellar is on track for another sell-out year.…
Welcome to the latest episode of the Cinema Australia Podcast. In this episode I’m joined by actor Teresa Palmer, and director Marcelle Lunam to discuss their new rom-com, Addition, adapted from the international bestseller and debut novel by Australian author Toni Jordan. Addition follows Grace, played by Palmer, a woman who counts everything because numbers…
The curtains have closed on the 10th Capricorn Film Festival, marking a milestone year for Central Queensland’s premiere screen arts event, with packed screenings, visiting filmmakers, community celebrations and an inspiring lineup of award-winning Australian and international cinema. Held across four days in Yeppoon, Capricorn Film Festival 2026 welcomed audiences to feature films, documentaries, short…
It Will Find You follows Emily (Kylah Day), a young Indigenous woman who unwittingly reactivates a generational curse that has laid dormant for 25 years. Dismissed as mentally unstable by those around her, Emily must reconnect with her ancestry to defeat the vengeful evil spirit “Giniirr” before it claims her life as payment for her…
The WA Made Film Festival cements its place as the state’s flagship celebration of Western Australian film culture, presenting its biggest-ever lineup of local films to date in 2026. Held over 11 days across four venues, this year’s eagerly anticipated program features 129 short films, feature films, documentaries and smartphone films; 85 premieres, including 68…
Wolfram, the new film from one of Australia’s foremost directors Warwick Thornton, will screen next month In Competition at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival. The selection was announced overnight. Starring the brilliant Deborah Mailman alongside Erroll Shand, Joe Bird, Thomas M Wright, Matt Nable and Pedrea Jackson, and produced by Bunya Productions’ Greer Simpkin and…
Two new Australian films, Lenore and Skeleton Girls. A Kidnapped Society, have been selected to screen at Fantasporto Film Festival in Porto, Portugal – one of the world’s leading and longest-running genre film festivals. Lenore, the debut feature film by director David Ward, is a haunting psychological drama that explores grief, obsession, and the dangerous…
After 13 years of championing the Australian screen industry, Cinema Australia is proud to launch the Cinema Australia Film Festival Submissions Fund – a brand new initiative designed to help emerging and established filmmakers get their work seen on the big screen. This exciting new fund will allow filmmakers to apply for small grants to…
Pasa Faho, the celebrated feature debut from Igbo-Australian filmmaker, writer and visual artist Kalu Oji, will kick-off its national tour of special event screenings with its NSW premiere at the Sydney Opera House on 21 January. This will be followed by screenings around Australia throughout January and February. Following its sold-out World Premiere screenings at…
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