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 EXPAND Lab, and other experiences that help people see the world in a totally new light.
Come and see in the dark at this year’s Adelaide Film Festival, 18 – 29 October 2023.
“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.
Adelaide Film Festival is a registered non-profit and a subsidiary of the South Australian Department for Industry, Innovation and Science. 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.