Programme
12–14 June 2026
7:30pmAn exuberant, intimate documentary about New Zealand-born satirist John Clarke (1948–2017). Directed by his daughter Lorin Clarke, structured around a series of interviews she conducted with him. The film revisits his iconic character Fred Dagg and his mock interviews alongside Brian Dawe, as colleagues share fond memories. Lorin leads a tribute to an irreverent but warm man who made Aussies laugh and politicians squirm.
Directed and written by Lorin Clarke
Nominee: AACTA Award – Best Documentary
9:45amA gently devastating historical biopic about Hilde Coppi (Liv Lisa Fries), a medical assistant in 1942 Berlin who joins the Red Orchestra resistance movement against the Nazi regime. Picturesque and equal parts tender and hard-hitting, this film affirms the value of love and defiance, and how deeply intertwined they are, even in the darkest times.
Directed by Andreas Dresen
Winner: German Film Awards – Best Actress
1:15pmIcelander Kristofer (Egill Ólafsson), an elderly man with limited time, revisits his past in the hope of reuniting with his old love Miko (Yoko Nagahashi). Driven by love, longing, what-ifs, and trauma from Hiroshima, this is a globetrotting multicultural drama.
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
Winner: Edda Awards Iceland – Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography
4:15pmThe complicated friendship between Muslim North Sudanese singer Mona (Eiman Yousif) and Julia (Siran Riak), the Christian South Sudanese woman she hires as her maid. Tense, nuanced and beautifully shot. Set just before the 2011 separation of South Sudan, its call for reconciliation resonates across the globe.
Directed by Mohamed Kordofani
Winner: Cannes Film Festival – Freedom Award (the first Sudanese film presented at Cannes)
8:00pmA scrappy, endearing British biopic that shines a sympathetic light on Tourette syndrome. Robert Aramayo delivers a dynamic, committed performance as John Davidson, a young working-class man with Tourettes who overcomes his condition with the help of nurse Dottie (Maxine Peake) to aid and advocate for others.
Directed by Kirk Jones
Winner: BAFTA – Best Leading Actor, Best Casting; British Independent Film Awards – Best Leading Performance
9:30amA darkly funny Iranian thriller following a group of former political prisoners as they contemplate revenge on Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi), who they suspect of being their captor under the Iranian regime. A deeply personal film for director Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times by the Islamic State and bravely made this film without official permission.
Directed by Jafar Panahi
Winner: Cannes Film Festival – Palme d'Or
12:45pmThe art of the short film is on display as we announce and screen the major prize winners in the Show Us Your Shorts competition, including the $1,000 Golden Shorts Award.
2026 Judges: Maggie Sail, Meg Urquhart, Sarah Sloan, Vicki Paris, Jim Bridges, Aroon Naidoo, and Regan Wood
1:30pmA brilliant, confidently-crafted French drama based on a true story, in which ambitious art appraiser André (Alex Lutz) and his ex-partner Bettina (Léa Drucker) find an exceptionally valuable painting long believed destroyed by the Nazis. A sharp, quick-witted glimpse into the cutthroat art world and how a painting can be an emblem of past evils.
Directed by Pascal Bonitzer
3:30pmA funny, socially-aware drama about Josh (Julian Dennison), a bullied student of mixed Māori descent (mother played by Minnie Driver), who gets into acting and activism amid the controversial 1981 Springboks rugby tour. Dennison comes into his own as a strong dramatic actor in a sensitive, compelling drama with firm political conviction, loosely based on Middleditch's own teen years.
Directed by Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett