Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) is South Australia’s premier screen event and one of Australia’s leading film festivals. It’s a celebration of courageous cinema where filmmakers and audiences come together for two weeks of local and international film premieres, art, talks and parties in October.

AFF is renowned for its warmth and inclusivity, welcoming new audience members and industry guests alike to South Australia and its eclectic cinema theatres. The festival allows all of us to surrender to the screen and be swallowed up by the story.

Named as one of the top 50 film festivals in the world by Variety, and winner of the 2021 Ruby Award for Best Festival, AFF has a reputation for being distinct and innovative. AFF screens features, shorts, documentaries and moving image projects you can’t see anywhere else — from both emerging and established Australian and global talent.

AFF was the first Australian film festival to establish an investment fund, which has seeded and premiered over 150 projects, including some of the most significant Australian films of the last two decades. Major AFF Investment Fund titles include Talk To Me (Danny and Michael Philippou, 2022), The Last Daughter (Brenda Matthews and Nathaniel Schmidt, 2022), When Pomegranates Howl (Granaz Moussavi, 2020), I Am Woman (Unjoo Moon, 2019), Hotel Mumbai (Anthony Maras, 2018), 52 Tuesdays (Sophie Hyde, 2013), Tracks (John Curran, 2013), Snowtown (Justin Kurzel, 2011), Samson and Delilah (Warwick Thornton, 2009), Ten Canoes (Rolf de Heer and Peter Djiggirr, 2005) and more.

The festival is also committed to supporting evolving moving image practices at the intersection of film, art, and new media. Previously commissioned work such as Soda Jerk’s Hello Dankness (2022) and Lynette Wallworth’s VR project Collisions (2016) have gone on to national and international acclaim.

Alongside the spring festival period, AFF hosts regional initiatives, a film club, an educational AFF Youth program, a filmmaker and artist development AFF Expand Lab, and other experiences that help people see the world in a totally new light.

See in the dark at Adelaide Film Festival, 15 – 26 October 2025.

“I was thrilled to attend the Adelaide Film Festival to present TÁR to its first and enthusiastic Australian audience amid an engaging program that incorporated extraordinary Australian productions alongside a wide array of remarkable international works. Festivals like the Adelaide Film Festival are essential to support the evolution of culture; culture of course being what binds and defines a society.”
Cate Blanchett, AFF 2022.

“My association with the Adelaide Film Festival has been a joy over many years. The programming is excellent, and the organisation runs smoothly, but what I really love about the festival experience in Adelaide is its intimacy. Filmgoers and film lovers mingle on the streets with premiers, politicians and artists. Conversations flow, everyone has an opinion, and the parties are fun.”
Margaret Pomeranz AM, AFF Patron.

“Adelaide Film Festival is the jewel of Australian film festivals. It has a laid-back laconic nature that invites the individual in. Adelaide is about quality, not quantity or fulfilling a quota. It has a charm and nature that is uniquely South Australian. It is about stories, sharing stories and friendship.”
Wayne Blair, Director and Actor.

Mission Statement

• To present a festival which celebrates and explores contemporary Australian and international screen culture with a unique program of screenings and special events, which aim to increase audience knowledge and participation.

• To increase and stimulate innovative and new screen production through the provision of equity finance for work premiering at the Festival.

• To raise the profile of arts and screen culture in South Australia for audiences and practitioners.

Vision

1. To deliver a distinctive festival, unique in the landscape of Australian film festivals, which integrates with the existing calendar of successful SA cultural festivals.

2. To attract complementary arts and cultural events and partnerships to raise the profile of the State and festival and extend opportunities for the local industry.

3. To use the Fund to capitalise on local and national creative strengths in order to:

   • boost production in the State

   • increase business and employment opportunities in the State

   • enhance the State’s national and international reputation as a centre of independent filmmaking

4. To create, market and present a challenging and distinctive screening program, accompanied by a substantial forum program, which profiles and explores key program themes and approaches to screen practice.

5. The festival will be relevant to both the general public and the industry, attracting a broad audience demographic and introducing this audience to innovative areas of screen practice.

6. To reflect trends in the film and screen-based industries.

Freedom of Speech Statement

To see in the dark, to see the world in a new light, to create a space for courageous cinema – Adelaide Film Festival invites filmmakers from around the world to tell their stories of humanity, and challenge and entertain audiences. By selecting these films, AFF offers an opportunity for free artistic and political expression to be presented in front of willing audiences, and a platform for diverse and nuanced storytelling.

Adelaide Film Festival acknowledges the right of these filmmakers to exercise autonomy and Freedom of Speech. Views held by our filmmakers are not necessarily the views of the organisation, however we stand by our selection's right to hold and express these divergent views. AFF does not tolerate any behaviour that is insulting, against the law, or discriminatory in any form. We have zero tolerance regarding discrimination, abuse, or hate speech towards our staff, filmmakers, audiences, and the communities our films represent.

The Mission and Vision of the Adelaide Film Festival is guided by our Adelaide Film Festival Board.

Adelaide Film Festival is a registered non-profit and a subsidiary of the South Australian Minister for Arts. The festival is also supported by Screen Australia and a proud member of the Festivals Adelaide group.

Adelaide Film Festival is held on Kaurna Country and acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia as the first storytellers.