2018 films Filter by program streamAllAustralian CinemaCall of the SurfSpecial EventsWorld CinemaSurprise ScreeningFilter CategoriesFilter - AllAustralian CinemaCall of the SurfSpecial EventsSurprise ScreeningWorld CinemaSort By First screeningTitleFirst screening IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS FRI 10 JAN SAT 11 JAN Nominee · Documentary Foundation Australia Award. Four years after controversial, temporarily-banned film, Gayby Baby (SWIFF’16), Maya Newell craft... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS DIRTY GOD FRI 10 JAN SAT 18 JAN In her English-language debut, Dutch writer-director Sacha Polak (Hemel, Zurich) takes a hard look at the gross discrepancy that underlies society’s p... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE FRI 10 JAN WED 15 JAN FRI 17 JAN Topping both best of the year and best of the decade lists, Céline Sciamma's (Girlhood, SWIFF ’16) latest is a devastatingly beautiful period drama ab... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ANGEL OF MINE FRI 10 JAN MON 13 JAN “Maternal longing is a key theme in director Kim Farrant’s psychological thriller...which takes what could have been a simple stalker movie premise an... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE BEACH BUM FRI 10 JAN “You just have to kind of accept that he’s from another dimension.” Moondog was once a lauded poet, now lost in a cloud of pot smoke, sun-glazed Fl... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS PACIFICO SAT 11 JAN SUN 12 JAN A story of personal discovery through the Latin American wilds. Two friends quit their jobs in Australia, booked flights to America, bought an old ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON SAT 11 JAN SUN 12 JAN SAT 18 JAN TUE 21 JAN “Shia LaBeouf shines in this funny, heartwarming adventure … Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome, is a real find, and is the heart and soul o... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SLAM SAT 11 JAN SUN 12 JAN “A powerful punch to the solar plexus … notices things that others would rather just skim over, like the kind of racism that blends right in with ever... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS AQUARELA SUN 12 JAN A ravishing visual feast from film artist, Victor Kossakovsky, Aquarela takes a deep dive into watery realms around the world, offering up an experien... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS PAIN AND GLORY SUN 12 JAN THU 16 JAN Antonio Banderas in a career high, earned himself the Best Actor Award at Cannes for this reflection of life, love and pain from legendary Spanish dir... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NON-FICTION MON 13 JAN With the backdrop of Paris, Non-Fiction muses on technology and literature. Can the two reconcile, or must the tweet destroy the novel? On the side of... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS HEARTS AND BONES MON 13 JAN WED 22 JAN In 2018 director Ben Lawrence delivered the multi-award winning documentary, Ghosthunter (SWIFF’19), where long hidden family secrets convergered with... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SUPA MODO MON 13 JAN SAT 18 JAN The most important super hero movie you’ll see this summer. Nine year old Kenyan, Jo, is obsessed with superheroes. Despite receiving a cancer diag... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BELLBIRD TUE 14 JAN Actions speak louder than words in Bellbird, a heart-warming dramedy about loss and community spirit that just goes to show that sometimes it really d... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NEVER LOOK AWAY TUE 14 JAN Winner · Best Film In Competition · Venice Film Festival. Sweeping across three eras of German history, lauded director Florian Henckel von Donners... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE NIGHTINGALE TUE 14 JAN Winner · Special Jury Prize · Venice Film Festival. Following her massively successful directorial debut The Babadook, Australian powerhouse Jennif... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS QUEEN OF HEARTS WED 15 JAN THU 23 JAN Winner · Audience Award · World Cinema Dramatic · Sundance Film Festival. Denmark’s entry for the Best International Feature for the 2020 Academy A... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SMOKE BETWEEN TREES WED 15 JAN Some life events are so powerful they are defined by “then” and “now”. For Mathew (Tyriel Mora, The Castle, Book Week SWIFF'19), a sensitive near-r... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SORRY WE MISSED YOU WED 15 JAN THU 23 JAN Nominee · 2019 Palme d’Or · Cannes Film Festival. From socially conscious director Ken Loach and longtime collaborator Paul Laverty comes the under... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS DARK WHISPERS VOL. 1 WED 15 JAN “Our motivation for making the film was to release more wicked and wonderful stories by women into the world, much as our protagonist unleashes powerf... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS A HIDDEN LIFE THU 16 JAN "A Hidden Life feels stunningly relevant"- Variety. Terrence Malick, director of the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winning Tree of Life, makes a ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE TRUTH THU 16 JAN SUN 19 JAN Acclaimed director Hirokazu Kore-eda's (Shoplifters, SWIFF’19) first feature film made outside of Japan is an exquisite dramedy, pairing beloved Frenc... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS LIFE AFTER THE OASIS FRI 17 JAN In 2008, raw, observational documentary The Oasis spotlighted the lives of a group of vulnerable teens living in a Sydney youth refuge – starting a na... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CHAINED FOR LIFE FRI 17 JAN An inventive, pitch-black satire that challenges on screen depictions of beauty in a film about filmmaking. Mabel (Jess Weixler, Teeth, The Death o... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS VAI SAT 18 JAN FRI 24 JAN Nine female filmmakers come together to produce eight short films, forming together to tell the life story of Pacific Islander woman, Vai. Although th... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ALICE SAT 18 JAN TUE 21 JAN Winner · Grand Jury Prize · SXSW Film Festival. “The opening minutes of Alice make the case for Emilie Piponnier to be a movie star, and the rest o... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MONKS OF THE SACRED VALLEY SUN 19 JAN WORLD PREMIERE. SWIFF provides audiences a rare opportunity to see inside the filmmaking process, presenting a WIP (work-in-progress) screening of ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BUOYANCY SUN 19 JAN MON 20 JAN Winner · Panorama Jury Award · Berlinale Film Festival. Tired of toiling in the rice fields, 14-year-old Chakra (a magnetic Sarm Heng) leaves Cambo... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BAIT MON 20 JAN “One of the defining British films of the decade” – The Guardian. Stunningly shot on vintage 16mm and processed by hand, Mark Jenkin’s Bait is a ti... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BY THE GRACE OF GOD WED 22 JAN Veteran French master, François Ozon (Franz, Swimming Pool), turns from his run of twisted thrillers and suspenseful comedies to shine a spotlight on ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS WHITE LIGHT THU 23 JAN Artist and activist, internationally acclaimed Australian icon George Gittoes has embedded himself in almost all conflict zone hotspots since Vietnam,... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MONOS THU 23 JAN Winner · World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award · Sundance Film Festival. “We work for The Organisation! The Organisation is our family!” On a... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SCARY MOTHER FRI 11 JAN TUE 15 JAN Best First Feature – Locarno Film Festival In 1929, author Virginia Woolf famously declared “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she i... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE FRI 11 JAN SAT 19 JAN Winner · Best Screenplay, Best Actor · Cannes Film Festival Joe, (Joaquin Phoenix) has returned home from war, plagued by personal demons, now a gu... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MOMENTUM GENERATION SAT 12 JAN The untold story behind Taylor Steele's 1992 pivotal surf epic, executive produced by Robert Redford. Steel's 1992 home movie, Momentum has played ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CLIMAX SAT 12 JAN Legendary provocateur Gaspar Noé returns to screen with a liberal dose of sex, drugs and music in this audacious and viscerally-affecting Cannes award... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE TALE SAT 12 JAN TUE 22 JAN Documentarian Jennifer Fox makes her feature debut with a bold blend of fact and fiction, investigating her own adolescent trauma, as portrayed by an ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SHARKWATER EXTINCTION SUN 13 JAN TUE 15 JAN Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart sets the illegal fishing industry in his sights for his final film. Sharkwater Extinction is the product of a a life... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS AGA MON 14 JAN An affecting take of love and isolation, Milko Lazarov crafts a handsome ode to a dying culture, set against the vast beauty of the tundra. Each da... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER MON 14 JAN FRI 18 JAN Winner · US Dramatic Directing · Sundance Film Festival He's just a little boy, but his teacher's convinced he's a prodigy - and she'll do whatever... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ARCTIC TUE 15 JAN SAT 19 JAN The ever intense Mads Mikkelsen (Men & Chicken, SWIFF 2017) turns in one of his career bests, as a man trying to escape the harsh arctic circle in... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SPOOR WED 16 JAN WED 23 JAN Winner – Silver Bear – Berlinale Adapted from the best-selling novel by Olga Tokarczuk by Oscar-nominated director, Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Euro... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS LEAN ON PETE WED 16 JAN A poignant and hypnotic journey through Midwest America, writer/director Andrew Haigh (45 Years), tells the story of the bond between a neglected boy ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS 3 FACES THU 17 JAN Winner · Best Screenplay · Cannes Film Festival Defying his filmmaking ban for the fourth time, Jafar Panahi (Tehran Taxi) has subversively created... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS RAFIKI FRI 18 JAN SAT 19 JAN Banned in its home country for ‘promoting lesbianism’, this delicate romance made history as the first Kenyan film selected for the prestigious Cannes... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SHOPLIFTERS FRI 18 JAN THU 24 JAN Winner · Palme d'Or · Cannes Film Festival The deserving winner of the biggest prize in world cinema, Cannes' Palme d'Or, Shoplifters harnesses pow... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS EMOCEAN (+ SALT OF THE EARTH + SURF ANYWHERE) SAT 19 JAN SUN 20 JAN Tony Harrington has made a life chasing barrels on film - but now switches gears to something more soulful. Originating from the Central Coast, and... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SALT OF THE EARTH (+ EMOCEAN + SURF ANYWHERE) SAT 19 JAN SUN 20 JAN Salt of the Earth follows the journey of making the ancient traditional Alaia finless surfboards to cruising the perfect points of Noosa. READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SURF ANYWHERE (+ EMOCEAN + SALT OF THE EARTH) SAT 19 JAN SUN 20 JAN A group of river surfing pioneers who are not only building a world-class wave on the Kananaskis River (forty-five minutes outside of landlocked Calga... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT SAT 19 JAN Recipient of both furious walkouts and a boisterous standing ovation at its Cannes premiere, The House That Jack Built is the controversial new work f... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ANCHOR AND HOPE MON 21 JAN A lesbian couple contemplate parenthood, family and love in this heartfelt, free-wheeling comic drama, set aboard a dreamy houseboat on a London canal... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CAPHARNAUM TUE 22 JAN Receiving a 15-minute standing ovation, the Cannes Jury Prize as well as creating a lot of Oscar buzz, this heartfelt drama centres on a runaway boy w... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BUTTERFLIES WED 23 JAN Winner · Grand Jury Prize · Sundance Film Festival Feathers fly in this hilarious, offbeat Sundance award-winning crowdpleaser. Three dysfunctio... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS GIRL THU 24 JAN Winner · Camera d’Or, Queer Palm, Un Certain Regard Best Actor, FIPRESCI · Cannes Film Festival Lara has two dreams: to become a professional balle... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS FIRST COW THU 22 APR · 8.15PM · JMT NSW Premiere | NOMINEE · BEST FILM · BERLINALE FILM FESTIVAL Five stars – The Guardian The milk of human kindness Kelly Reichardt (Certain Women, ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ONLY THE ANIMALS THU 15 APR · 11.45AM · JMT The disappearance of a woman in the highlands of Southern France pulls five people into a tangled web of half-truths and hidden agendas. An isolated f... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE SURROGATE THU 15 APR · 1.30PM · CHEC WED 28 APR · 2PM · JMT NSW Premiere Eager-to-please Brooklynite Jess is thrilled when her best friend asks her to be a surrogate for him and his husband. After a prenatal... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS KAJILLIONAIRE THU 15 APR · 6.15PM · CHEC FRI 23 APR · 8.45PM · JMT Con-artists Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) have spent 26 years training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), to swi... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE PAINTED BIRD FRI 16 APR · 10.30PM · CHEC THU 22 APR · 1PM · JMT Australian Premiere Visually stunning, thematically unflinching, and nakedly brutal in its storytelling, The Painted Bird tells a critical perspect... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS AND THEN WE DANCED FRI 16 APR · 1.30PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 6PM · JMT A rhythmic tale of secret love set in conservative modern-day Tbilisi, And Then We Danced follows the burgeoning romance between two dancers at a prom... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SUPERNOVA FRI 16 APR · 4PM · JMT TUE 20 APR · 2.15PM · JMT What happens when the person you have loved for decades starts to fade? Longtime couple Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) are travelling... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS WILDFIRE FRI 16 APR · 4PM · CHEC MON 26 APR · 4PM · JMT Australian Premiere Superbly performed and emotionally stirring, Cathy Brady’s debut is a masterclass study of two sisters – and a country – reckon... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS JUMBO FRI 16 APR · 6PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC SUN 25 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC Fresh from her breakout role in Portrait of a Lady on Fire (SWIFF’20) Noémie Merlant shines in this offbeat romance between woman and machine. Jean... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS WAKE IN FRIGHT - SWIFF Live Fri Apr 16 · 8:15PM · JMT To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Australia's stunning and awe-inspiring 'great lost film', SWIFF presents an original live soundtrack screening of... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS DINNER IN AMERICA FRI 16 APR · 8.45PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 8.45PM · CHEC "This sweet and sour coming-of-age comedy smashed into Sundance with anarchy on its mind and a kickass soundtrack on its turntable. The bad boy-meets-... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ASMF SWELL CHASERS - TO SWELL AND BACK SAT 17 APR · 3PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 3.30PM · CHEC For the first time in 3 years, the amaysim Australian Surf Movie Festival (ASFM) returns to venues across Australia, and SWIFF is proud to bringing yo... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MINARI SAT 17 APR · 3.45PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 11AM · CHEC FRI 23 APR · 6PM · CHEC WINNER · GRAND JURY PRIZE · AUDIENCE AWARD · SUNDANCE Hot Oscar contender, Minari is a tender, sweeping story that follows a Korean-American family... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ANOTHER ROUND THU 15 APR · 6PM · JMT SAT 17 APR · 6PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 4PM · JMT Vinterberg and Mikkelsen reunite after their masterful 2012 Oscar-nominated drama, The Hunt, to deliver an intoxicating and heartfelt comedy about a g... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS FALLING SAT 17 APR · 6.15PM · JMT SUN 18 APR · 6PM · CHEC Australian Premiere Formidable three-time Best Actor Oscar Nominee Viggo Mortensen (Green Book, Eastern Promises, Captain Fantastic) delivers his d... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS SAT 17 APR · 8.30PM · CHEC SUN 25 APR · 8.30PM · CHEC NSW Premiere “Its message is timeless. Its performances? Flawless … A cautionary tale dedicated to the fragility of the family structure…a showcase... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH SAT 17 APR · 8.45PM · JMT Shaka King’s magnetic film carries themes that continue to resonate today and serves as a reminder of the potent power of the people. Based on true... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NEXTWAVE YOUTH FILM AWARDS SUN 18 APR · 3.30PM FOR 4PM · CE.X COFFS One of the most highly anticipated SWIFF events, the Nextwave Youth Film Awards (NYFA) celebrates the creative filmmaking achievements of young region... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NOMADLAND SUN 18 APR · 3.30PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 6.30PM · JMT WINNER · BEST FILM · VENICE “Frances McDormand delivers the performance of her career” – The Guardian After losing everything in the Great Reces... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS UNDER THE STARS OF PARIS MON 19 APR · 2PM · JMT TUE 27 APR · 12.30PM · JMT Christine (Catherine Frot), a woman in her 60s, has been living rough on the streets of Paris. Her lonely routine is divided by free food bank visits ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SAINT FRANCES MON 19 APR · 4PM · JMT FRI 23 APR · 4PM · CHEC WINNER · AUDIENCE AWARD · SPECIAL JURY AWARD · SXSW 34-year-old server Bridget (intimately played by writer Kelly O’Sullivan) finally manages to ca... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS YALDA, A NIGHT FOR FORGIVENESS MON 19 APR · 6.15PM · JMT FRI 23 APR · 1.30PM · JMT NSW Premiere Under Iranian law, those sentenced to death have a chance to be spared by the family of the victim, with a select few cases for clemen... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN MON 19 APR · 8.15PM · JMT Premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, Sandra Wollner's The Trouble With Being Born garnered controversy for its depiction of a relatio... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE MACALUSO SISTERS TUE 20 APR · 12.15PM · JMT Australian Premiere Adapted from her own acclaimed stage play by Emma Dante, The Macaluso Sisters is an affecting tale of both the anger and affect... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS COUNTY LINES TUE 20 APR · 4.15PM · JMT WED 28 APR · 8.15PM · JMT Australian Premiere The practice of using children to pass drugs from cities to rural and coastal areas, ‘county lines’, is condemned through this ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS TUE 20 APR · 6.15PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 4PM · CHEC WINNER · JURY GRAND PRIX · BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL “Perfectly pitched and sensitively played, this is truthful, powerful and profoundly moving fare fr... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SWIFF x Hilltop Wine Degustation Dinner Wed 21 Apr A food and wine celebration comes to SWIFF! The festival hosts acclaimed executive chefs Richie Dolan and Carla Jones from The Hilltop Store and Hi... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE WORLD TO COME THU 22 APR · 4PM · JMT WED 28 APR · 6.15PM · JMT WINNER · QUEER LION · VENICE FILM FESTIVAL In upstate New York in the 1850s, Abigail (Katherine Waterston) begins a new year on the rural farm wher... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS FILMMAKER FORUM THUR 22 APR · 4:30PM · CHEC With the newly formed Coffs Coast creative industries peak body, Blacklight Collective, making film and screen development a major priority for indust... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS TWO OF US THU 15 APR · 2PM · JMT FRI 23 APR · 11.30AM · JMT "A decades-long secret love affair between two older women is severely tested in Italian director Filippo Meneghetti’s moving tribute to love’s abilit... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA: ADULT MASTERCLASS FRI 23 APR · 12PM · CHE Over five hours, learn professional new tools and unique exercises to create exciting, three dimensional characters, and what it is to connect to a st... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MY NAME IS GULPILIL FRI 23 APR · 6.30PM · JMT SAT 24 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC “Sublime, humane, elegant…an unforgettable film”– The Guardian. Molly Reynolds’ My Name Is Gulpilil expertly canvases the life, the work, the adven... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA: TEEN CLASS SAT 24 APR · 9AM · CHEC Over two hours this session will focus on games and exercises that are the starting point for all actor training. Fun, energetic and interactive ea... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA: ADULTS OPEN CLASS SAT 24 APR · 12PM · CHEC Over two hours participants will experience the exercises students in our Bachelor of Performing Arts program explore in the first year of their degre... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS GOLDEN VOICES MON 26 APR · 12PM · JMT Victor and Raya Frenkel were the ‘golden voices’ of the Soviet film dubbing for decades. All of the western movies that reached Soviet screens were du... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MY LITTLE SISTER MON 26 APR · 2PM · JMT A heavyweight drama elevated by two outstanding performers, Lars Eidinger (The Clouds of Sils Maria) joins Nina Hoss (celebrated star of Barbara and P... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CREATIVE INDUSTRIES PARTY MON 26 APR · 4PM · ELEMENT BAR Calling all creative industries workers: designers, dancers, actors, musicians, visual artists, writers, hair and MUAs, new media specialists, VR/AR/X... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ALIENS MON 26 APR · 8PM · JMT Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and hosted on World Alien Day (April 26th commemorating the brave souls on colony LV-426), SWIFF is screeni... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS A Boy Called Sailboat - SWIFF live TUE 27 APR · 6.30PM · JMT WED 28 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC "Imbued with the kind of unique indie-quirk that made Napoleon Dynamite a cult smash" - Sydney Morning Herald Acclaimed guitarists Slava & Leon... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS Closing Night - MOGUL MOWGLI THU 29 APR · 6PM FOR 6.30PM · CHEC NSW Premiere WINNER · FIRPRESCI PRIZE · BERLINALE Spitting powerful lyrics, speaking to his culture, British Pakistani rapper Zed (Riz Ahmed, Nigh... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS
Filter by program streamAllAustralian CinemaCall of the SurfSpecial EventsWorld CinemaSurprise ScreeningFilter CategoriesFilter - AllAustralian CinemaCall of the SurfSpecial EventsSurprise ScreeningWorld CinemaSort By First screeningTitleFirst screening IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS FRI 10 JAN SAT 11 JAN Nominee · Documentary Foundation Australia Award. Four years after controversial, temporarily-banned film, Gayby Baby (SWIFF’16), Maya Newell craft... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS DIRTY GOD FRI 10 JAN SAT 18 JAN In her English-language debut, Dutch writer-director Sacha Polak (Hemel, Zurich) takes a hard look at the gross discrepancy that underlies society’s p... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE FRI 10 JAN WED 15 JAN FRI 17 JAN Topping both best of the year and best of the decade lists, Céline Sciamma's (Girlhood, SWIFF ’16) latest is a devastatingly beautiful period drama ab... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ANGEL OF MINE FRI 10 JAN MON 13 JAN “Maternal longing is a key theme in director Kim Farrant’s psychological thriller...which takes what could have been a simple stalker movie premise an... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE BEACH BUM FRI 10 JAN “You just have to kind of accept that he’s from another dimension.” Moondog was once a lauded poet, now lost in a cloud of pot smoke, sun-glazed Fl... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS PACIFICO SAT 11 JAN SUN 12 JAN A story of personal discovery through the Latin American wilds. Two friends quit their jobs in Australia, booked flights to America, bought an old ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON SAT 11 JAN SUN 12 JAN SAT 18 JAN TUE 21 JAN “Shia LaBeouf shines in this funny, heartwarming adventure … Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome, is a real find, and is the heart and soul o... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SLAM SAT 11 JAN SUN 12 JAN “A powerful punch to the solar plexus … notices things that others would rather just skim over, like the kind of racism that blends right in with ever... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS AQUARELA SUN 12 JAN A ravishing visual feast from film artist, Victor Kossakovsky, Aquarela takes a deep dive into watery realms around the world, offering up an experien... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS PAIN AND GLORY SUN 12 JAN THU 16 JAN Antonio Banderas in a career high, earned himself the Best Actor Award at Cannes for this reflection of life, love and pain from legendary Spanish dir... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NON-FICTION MON 13 JAN With the backdrop of Paris, Non-Fiction muses on technology and literature. Can the two reconcile, or must the tweet destroy the novel? On the side of... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS HEARTS AND BONES MON 13 JAN WED 22 JAN In 2018 director Ben Lawrence delivered the multi-award winning documentary, Ghosthunter (SWIFF’19), where long hidden family secrets convergered with... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SUPA MODO MON 13 JAN SAT 18 JAN The most important super hero movie you’ll see this summer. Nine year old Kenyan, Jo, is obsessed with superheroes. Despite receiving a cancer diag... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BELLBIRD TUE 14 JAN Actions speak louder than words in Bellbird, a heart-warming dramedy about loss and community spirit that just goes to show that sometimes it really d... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NEVER LOOK AWAY TUE 14 JAN Winner · Best Film In Competition · Venice Film Festival. Sweeping across three eras of German history, lauded director Florian Henckel von Donners... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE NIGHTINGALE TUE 14 JAN Winner · Special Jury Prize · Venice Film Festival. Following her massively successful directorial debut The Babadook, Australian powerhouse Jennif... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS QUEEN OF HEARTS WED 15 JAN THU 23 JAN Winner · Audience Award · World Cinema Dramatic · Sundance Film Festival. Denmark’s entry for the Best International Feature for the 2020 Academy A... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SMOKE BETWEEN TREES WED 15 JAN Some life events are so powerful they are defined by “then” and “now”. For Mathew (Tyriel Mora, The Castle, Book Week SWIFF'19), a sensitive near-r... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SORRY WE MISSED YOU WED 15 JAN THU 23 JAN Nominee · 2019 Palme d’Or · Cannes Film Festival. From socially conscious director Ken Loach and longtime collaborator Paul Laverty comes the under... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS DARK WHISPERS VOL. 1 WED 15 JAN “Our motivation for making the film was to release more wicked and wonderful stories by women into the world, much as our protagonist unleashes powerf... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS A HIDDEN LIFE THU 16 JAN "A Hidden Life feels stunningly relevant"- Variety. Terrence Malick, director of the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winning Tree of Life, makes a ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE TRUTH THU 16 JAN SUN 19 JAN Acclaimed director Hirokazu Kore-eda's (Shoplifters, SWIFF’19) first feature film made outside of Japan is an exquisite dramedy, pairing beloved Frenc... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS LIFE AFTER THE OASIS FRI 17 JAN In 2008, raw, observational documentary The Oasis spotlighted the lives of a group of vulnerable teens living in a Sydney youth refuge – starting a na... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CHAINED FOR LIFE FRI 17 JAN An inventive, pitch-black satire that challenges on screen depictions of beauty in a film about filmmaking. Mabel (Jess Weixler, Teeth, The Death o... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS VAI SAT 18 JAN FRI 24 JAN Nine female filmmakers come together to produce eight short films, forming together to tell the life story of Pacific Islander woman, Vai. Although th... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ALICE SAT 18 JAN TUE 21 JAN Winner · Grand Jury Prize · SXSW Film Festival. “The opening minutes of Alice make the case for Emilie Piponnier to be a movie star, and the rest o... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MONKS OF THE SACRED VALLEY SUN 19 JAN WORLD PREMIERE. SWIFF provides audiences a rare opportunity to see inside the filmmaking process, presenting a WIP (work-in-progress) screening of ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BUOYANCY SUN 19 JAN MON 20 JAN Winner · Panorama Jury Award · Berlinale Film Festival. Tired of toiling in the rice fields, 14-year-old Chakra (a magnetic Sarm Heng) leaves Cambo... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BAIT MON 20 JAN “One of the defining British films of the decade” – The Guardian. Stunningly shot on vintage 16mm and processed by hand, Mark Jenkin’s Bait is a ti... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BY THE GRACE OF GOD WED 22 JAN Veteran French master, François Ozon (Franz, Swimming Pool), turns from his run of twisted thrillers and suspenseful comedies to shine a spotlight on ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS WHITE LIGHT THU 23 JAN Artist and activist, internationally acclaimed Australian icon George Gittoes has embedded himself in almost all conflict zone hotspots since Vietnam,... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MONOS THU 23 JAN Winner · World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award · Sundance Film Festival. “We work for The Organisation! The Organisation is our family!” On a... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SCARY MOTHER FRI 11 JAN TUE 15 JAN Best First Feature – Locarno Film Festival In 1929, author Virginia Woolf famously declared “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she i... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE FRI 11 JAN SAT 19 JAN Winner · Best Screenplay, Best Actor · Cannes Film Festival Joe, (Joaquin Phoenix) has returned home from war, plagued by personal demons, now a gu... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MOMENTUM GENERATION SAT 12 JAN The untold story behind Taylor Steele's 1992 pivotal surf epic, executive produced by Robert Redford. Steel's 1992 home movie, Momentum has played ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CLIMAX SAT 12 JAN Legendary provocateur Gaspar Noé returns to screen with a liberal dose of sex, drugs and music in this audacious and viscerally-affecting Cannes award... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE TALE SAT 12 JAN TUE 22 JAN Documentarian Jennifer Fox makes her feature debut with a bold blend of fact and fiction, investigating her own adolescent trauma, as portrayed by an ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SHARKWATER EXTINCTION SUN 13 JAN TUE 15 JAN Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart sets the illegal fishing industry in his sights for his final film. Sharkwater Extinction is the product of a a life... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS AGA MON 14 JAN An affecting take of love and isolation, Milko Lazarov crafts a handsome ode to a dying culture, set against the vast beauty of the tundra. Each da... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER MON 14 JAN FRI 18 JAN Winner · US Dramatic Directing · Sundance Film Festival He's just a little boy, but his teacher's convinced he's a prodigy - and she'll do whatever... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ARCTIC TUE 15 JAN SAT 19 JAN The ever intense Mads Mikkelsen (Men & Chicken, SWIFF 2017) turns in one of his career bests, as a man trying to escape the harsh arctic circle in... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SPOOR WED 16 JAN WED 23 JAN Winner – Silver Bear – Berlinale Adapted from the best-selling novel by Olga Tokarczuk by Oscar-nominated director, Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Euro... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS LEAN ON PETE WED 16 JAN A poignant and hypnotic journey through Midwest America, writer/director Andrew Haigh (45 Years), tells the story of the bond between a neglected boy ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS 3 FACES THU 17 JAN Winner · Best Screenplay · Cannes Film Festival Defying his filmmaking ban for the fourth time, Jafar Panahi (Tehran Taxi) has subversively created... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS RAFIKI FRI 18 JAN SAT 19 JAN Banned in its home country for ‘promoting lesbianism’, this delicate romance made history as the first Kenyan film selected for the prestigious Cannes... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SHOPLIFTERS FRI 18 JAN THU 24 JAN Winner · Palme d'Or · Cannes Film Festival The deserving winner of the biggest prize in world cinema, Cannes' Palme d'Or, Shoplifters harnesses pow... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS EMOCEAN (+ SALT OF THE EARTH + SURF ANYWHERE) SAT 19 JAN SUN 20 JAN Tony Harrington has made a life chasing barrels on film - but now switches gears to something more soulful. Originating from the Central Coast, and... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SALT OF THE EARTH (+ EMOCEAN + SURF ANYWHERE) SAT 19 JAN SUN 20 JAN Salt of the Earth follows the journey of making the ancient traditional Alaia finless surfboards to cruising the perfect points of Noosa. READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SURF ANYWHERE (+ EMOCEAN + SALT OF THE EARTH) SAT 19 JAN SUN 20 JAN A group of river surfing pioneers who are not only building a world-class wave on the Kananaskis River (forty-five minutes outside of landlocked Calga... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT SAT 19 JAN Recipient of both furious walkouts and a boisterous standing ovation at its Cannes premiere, The House That Jack Built is the controversial new work f... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ANCHOR AND HOPE MON 21 JAN A lesbian couple contemplate parenthood, family and love in this heartfelt, free-wheeling comic drama, set aboard a dreamy houseboat on a London canal... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CAPHARNAUM TUE 22 JAN Receiving a 15-minute standing ovation, the Cannes Jury Prize as well as creating a lot of Oscar buzz, this heartfelt drama centres on a runaway boy w... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS BUTTERFLIES WED 23 JAN Winner · Grand Jury Prize · Sundance Film Festival Feathers fly in this hilarious, offbeat Sundance award-winning crowdpleaser. Three dysfunctio... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS GIRL THU 24 JAN Winner · Camera d’Or, Queer Palm, Un Certain Regard Best Actor, FIPRESCI · Cannes Film Festival Lara has two dreams: to become a professional balle... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS FIRST COW THU 22 APR · 8.15PM · JMT NSW Premiere | NOMINEE · BEST FILM · BERLINALE FILM FESTIVAL Five stars – The Guardian The milk of human kindness Kelly Reichardt (Certain Women, ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ONLY THE ANIMALS THU 15 APR · 11.45AM · JMT The disappearance of a woman in the highlands of Southern France pulls five people into a tangled web of half-truths and hidden agendas. An isolated f... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE SURROGATE THU 15 APR · 1.30PM · CHEC WED 28 APR · 2PM · JMT NSW Premiere Eager-to-please Brooklynite Jess is thrilled when her best friend asks her to be a surrogate for him and his husband. After a prenatal... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS KAJILLIONAIRE THU 15 APR · 6.15PM · CHEC FRI 23 APR · 8.45PM · JMT Con-artists Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) have spent 26 years training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), to swi... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE PAINTED BIRD FRI 16 APR · 10.30PM · CHEC THU 22 APR · 1PM · JMT Australian Premiere Visually stunning, thematically unflinching, and nakedly brutal in its storytelling, The Painted Bird tells a critical perspect... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS AND THEN WE DANCED FRI 16 APR · 1.30PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 6PM · JMT A rhythmic tale of secret love set in conservative modern-day Tbilisi, And Then We Danced follows the burgeoning romance between two dancers at a prom... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SUPERNOVA FRI 16 APR · 4PM · JMT TUE 20 APR · 2.15PM · JMT What happens when the person you have loved for decades starts to fade? Longtime couple Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) are travelling... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS WILDFIRE FRI 16 APR · 4PM · CHEC MON 26 APR · 4PM · JMT Australian Premiere Superbly performed and emotionally stirring, Cathy Brady’s debut is a masterclass study of two sisters – and a country – reckon... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS JUMBO FRI 16 APR · 6PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC SUN 25 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC Fresh from her breakout role in Portrait of a Lady on Fire (SWIFF’20) Noémie Merlant shines in this offbeat romance between woman and machine. Jean... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS WAKE IN FRIGHT - SWIFF Live Fri Apr 16 · 8:15PM · JMT To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Australia's stunning and awe-inspiring 'great lost film', SWIFF presents an original live soundtrack screening of... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS DINNER IN AMERICA FRI 16 APR · 8.45PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 8.45PM · CHEC "This sweet and sour coming-of-age comedy smashed into Sundance with anarchy on its mind and a kickass soundtrack on its turntable. The bad boy-meets-... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ASMF SWELL CHASERS - TO SWELL AND BACK SAT 17 APR · 3PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 3.30PM · CHEC For the first time in 3 years, the amaysim Australian Surf Movie Festival (ASFM) returns to venues across Australia, and SWIFF is proud to bringing yo... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MINARI SAT 17 APR · 3.45PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 11AM · CHEC FRI 23 APR · 6PM · CHEC WINNER · GRAND JURY PRIZE · AUDIENCE AWARD · SUNDANCE Hot Oscar contender, Minari is a tender, sweeping story that follows a Korean-American family... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ANOTHER ROUND THU 15 APR · 6PM · JMT SAT 17 APR · 6PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 4PM · JMT Vinterberg and Mikkelsen reunite after their masterful 2012 Oscar-nominated drama, The Hunt, to deliver an intoxicating and heartfelt comedy about a g... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS FALLING SAT 17 APR · 6.15PM · JMT SUN 18 APR · 6PM · CHEC Australian Premiere Formidable three-time Best Actor Oscar Nominee Viggo Mortensen (Green Book, Eastern Promises, Captain Fantastic) delivers his d... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS SAT 17 APR · 8.30PM · CHEC SUN 25 APR · 8.30PM · CHEC NSW Premiere “Its message is timeless. Its performances? Flawless … A cautionary tale dedicated to the fragility of the family structure…a showcase... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH SAT 17 APR · 8.45PM · JMT Shaka King’s magnetic film carries themes that continue to resonate today and serves as a reminder of the potent power of the people. Based on true... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NEXTWAVE YOUTH FILM AWARDS SUN 18 APR · 3.30PM FOR 4PM · CE.X COFFS One of the most highly anticipated SWIFF events, the Nextwave Youth Film Awards (NYFA) celebrates the creative filmmaking achievements of young region... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NOMADLAND SUN 18 APR · 3.30PM · CHEC SAT 24 APR · 6.30PM · JMT WINNER · BEST FILM · VENICE “Frances McDormand delivers the performance of her career” – The Guardian After losing everything in the Great Reces... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS UNDER THE STARS OF PARIS MON 19 APR · 2PM · JMT TUE 27 APR · 12.30PM · JMT Christine (Catherine Frot), a woman in her 60s, has been living rough on the streets of Paris. Her lonely routine is divided by free food bank visits ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SAINT FRANCES MON 19 APR · 4PM · JMT FRI 23 APR · 4PM · CHEC WINNER · AUDIENCE AWARD · SPECIAL JURY AWARD · SXSW 34-year-old server Bridget (intimately played by writer Kelly O’Sullivan) finally manages to ca... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS YALDA, A NIGHT FOR FORGIVENESS MON 19 APR · 6.15PM · JMT FRI 23 APR · 1.30PM · JMT NSW Premiere Under Iranian law, those sentenced to death have a chance to be spared by the family of the victim, with a select few cases for clemen... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN MON 19 APR · 8.15PM · JMT Premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, Sandra Wollner's The Trouble With Being Born garnered controversy for its depiction of a relatio... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE MACALUSO SISTERS TUE 20 APR · 12.15PM · JMT Australian Premiere Adapted from her own acclaimed stage play by Emma Dante, The Macaluso Sisters is an affecting tale of both the anger and affect... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS COUNTY LINES TUE 20 APR · 4.15PM · JMT WED 28 APR · 8.15PM · JMT Australian Premiere The practice of using children to pass drugs from cities to rural and coastal areas, ‘county lines’, is condemned through this ... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS TUE 20 APR · 6.15PM · JMT THU 22 APR · 4PM · CHEC WINNER · JURY GRAND PRIX · BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL “Perfectly pitched and sensitively played, this is truthful, powerful and profoundly moving fare fr... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS SWIFF x Hilltop Wine Degustation Dinner Wed 21 Apr A food and wine celebration comes to SWIFF! The festival hosts acclaimed executive chefs Richie Dolan and Carla Jones from The Hilltop Store and Hi... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS THE WORLD TO COME THU 22 APR · 4PM · JMT WED 28 APR · 6.15PM · JMT WINNER · QUEER LION · VENICE FILM FESTIVAL In upstate New York in the 1850s, Abigail (Katherine Waterston) begins a new year on the rural farm wher... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS FILMMAKER FORUM THUR 22 APR · 4:30PM · CHEC With the newly formed Coffs Coast creative industries peak body, Blacklight Collective, making film and screen development a major priority for indust... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS TWO OF US THU 15 APR · 2PM · JMT FRI 23 APR · 11.30AM · JMT "A decades-long secret love affair between two older women is severely tested in Italian director Filippo Meneghetti’s moving tribute to love’s abilit... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA: ADULT MASTERCLASS FRI 23 APR · 12PM · CHE Over five hours, learn professional new tools and unique exercises to create exciting, three dimensional characters, and what it is to connect to a st... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MY NAME IS GULPILIL FRI 23 APR · 6.30PM · JMT SAT 24 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC “Sublime, humane, elegant…an unforgettable film”– The Guardian. Molly Reynolds’ My Name Is Gulpilil expertly canvases the life, the work, the adven... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA: TEEN CLASS SAT 24 APR · 9AM · CHEC Over two hours this session will focus on games and exercises that are the starting point for all actor training. Fun, energetic and interactive ea... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA: ADULTS OPEN CLASS SAT 24 APR · 12PM · CHEC Over two hours participants will experience the exercises students in our Bachelor of Performing Arts program explore in the first year of their degre... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS GOLDEN VOICES MON 26 APR · 12PM · JMT Victor and Raya Frenkel were the ‘golden voices’ of the Soviet film dubbing for decades. All of the western movies that reached Soviet screens were du... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS MY LITTLE SISTER MON 26 APR · 2PM · JMT A heavyweight drama elevated by two outstanding performers, Lars Eidinger (The Clouds of Sils Maria) joins Nina Hoss (celebrated star of Barbara and P... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS CREATIVE INDUSTRIES PARTY MON 26 APR · 4PM · ELEMENT BAR Calling all creative industries workers: designers, dancers, actors, musicians, visual artists, writers, hair and MUAs, new media specialists, VR/AR/X... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS ALIENS MON 26 APR · 8PM · JMT Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and hosted on World Alien Day (April 26th commemorating the brave souls on colony LV-426), SWIFF is screeni... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS A Boy Called Sailboat - SWIFF live TUE 27 APR · 6.30PM · JMT WED 28 APR · 6.30PM · CHEC "Imbued with the kind of unique indie-quirk that made Napoleon Dynamite a cult smash" - Sydney Morning Herald Acclaimed guitarists Slava & Leon... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS Closing Night - MOGUL MOWGLI THU 29 APR · 6PM FOR 6.30PM · CHEC NSW Premiere WINNER · FIRPRESCI PRIZE · BERLINALE Spitting powerful lyrics, speaking to his culture, British Pakistani rapper Zed (Riz Ahmed, Nigh... READ MORE/BUY TICKETS
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