The Valley

The 73rd Sydney Film Festival (3–14 June) today revealed a sneak peek of 13 daring new films set to screen this June, offering a taste of the 200+ strong 2026 program ahead of the full Festival announcement on Wednesday 6 May.

“Prize winners from Berlinale and Sundance, an immersive World Premiere from Australia, Isabelle Huppert as a vampire who’s as fabulous as they come, and more – we wanted to offer a glimpse of the distinctive voices from across the globe coming to SFF,” said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. 

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Australian stories lead with urgent and intimate perspectives. Selina Miles’ Silenced follows Australian lawyer Jennifer Robinson and survivors including Brittany Higgins and Amber Heard, examining defamation law in the wake of the #MeToo movement. In The Valley, Ian Darling AO (The Final Quarter, SFF 2019) crafts a quietly immersive portrait of life in Kangaroo Valley, capturing the rhythms, labour and traditions that sustain a rural community.

Flexipasses and Subscriptions to Sydney Film Festival 2026 are on sale now. Call 1300 733 733 or visit sff.org.au for more information. The full Sydney Film Festival program is announced on Wednesday 6 May 2026, when tickets to specific film sessions will be on sale.

First look Australian films include:

The Valley

World Premiere
Directed by Ian Darling
Kangaroo Valley takes centre stage in this documentary, offering year-long portraits of one of Australia’s most beloved rural communities – where farmers, bakers, firies and artists reveal the character of the place and the people who call it home.

Silenced

Australian Premiere
Directed by Selina Miles
In this eye-opening documentary, courtroom footage and behind-the-headlines interviews reveal how the legal system is being used to victimize, discredit and financially ruin survivors, and journalists reporting on their stories. From Amber Heard at London’s Law Courts to journalist Catalina Ruiz-Navarro in Colombia, and Brittany Higgins’ experience in our own backyard, women globally face a new kind of silencing at the hands of perpetrators of sexual violence. It’s a legal backlash Australian Jennifer Robinson is committed to fighting, inspired by her courageous grandmother who was also a survivor. With unrivalled access, director Selina Miles (Martha: A Picture Story, SFF 2019) challenges the flaws in the justice system that make this silencing possible, while simultaneously revealing the personal cost to those who speak up.

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