AFF Goes to Cannes

Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) has partnered with the Marché du Film, the world’s largest film market, at the prestigious Festival de Cannes, 13–21 May 2025.

In 2025, AFF is once again partnering with the Marché du Film to showcase Australian filmmaking as part of the Marché 'Goes to Cannes' platform. The initiative offers South Australian filmmakers and national AFFIF alumni the opportunity to attend a program of activities at the Marché du Film Festival de Cannes – the world’s largest film market.

The objective of this initiative is to connect local filmmaking talent with the global market. Participating filmmakers will be introduced to the Cannes film market, and to select sales agents, distributors, programmers, and other industry participants.

Feature filmmakers with works in progress (feature fiction, documentary or animation) are invited to submit Expressions of Interest by midday, Monday 17 March 2025. All filmmakers, both South Australian and national AFFIF alumni, must have a work in progress (already shot, in post) seeking market investment, sales or international festival selection that can contribute to South Australia economically, culturally or creatively.

The AFF Goes to Cannes activity includes:

Presentation of FIVE works in progress to Marché delegates as part of the Marché du Film's Goes to Cannes platform
Participation in a facilitated series of roundtable talks with global industry representatives (sales agents, festival programmers, investors etc.)
Networking opportunities and facilitated introductions

Selected projects will receive support for one representative (producer*) to attend the Cannes Marché. This will include:

Accommodation
Marché du Film accreditation
A grant of up to $5,000 toward flights and on the ground expenses

*It is encouraged that both producer and director attend the Marché as a team, wherever possible.

Selected filmmakers will be required to fully participate in the daily program of activity provided by AFF. Participants will also be required to:

Submit a post-market report
Give the AFF Goes to Cannes initiative an end credit in their film
Share daily photographs and videos to a central AFF depository for use in marketing and promotion
Participate in publicity and marketing activities relating to the initiative in the lead up to, during and after AFF Goes to Cannes as requested by AFF.

Expressions from First Nations filmmakers are strongly encouraged.

Expressions of interest should make the case for inclusion — why your project, why you and why now?

Submissions close: Midday Monday 17 March
Notification date: COB Monday 31 March

This Adelaide Film Festival initiative is funded by the Government of South Australia, Department for Premier and Cabinet.

“The Adelaide Film Festival has helped shape a generation of filmmakers’ careers by helping to enable the production of bold and daring screen works through the AFF Investment Fund that have been presented across the globe, many at acclaimed film festivals. Recent highlights include Lesbian Space Princess (Berlinale 2025 Teddy Award winner and 2024 Goes to Cannes participant) and Jimpa which screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

The Goes to Cannes initiative is part of AFFs broader suite of international engagement activities and is a festival bridge connecting Australian creative talent with the global market and other international festivals. An important professional development opportunity, AFF Goes to Cannes places Australian creatives at the centre of the world’s most important film market. Inaugural participants in 2024 benefited from the initiative by on boarding international sales agents and connecting with A-list festival programmers."

– Mat Kesting, Adelaide Film Festival CEO & Creative Director.

AFF Goes to Cannes 2024

Kangaroo Island

Director: Timothy David
Australia, Feature Fiction.
premiered at aff 2024

Lou Wells has hit rock bottom after a promising start to a career in Hollywood. Her ex needs her to move out, her friends are distancing themselves from her and her talent agency “just isn’t excited by her anymore.” Truth is, Lou Wells isn’t excited about Lou Wells either. Broke and aimless, she reluctantly accepts a ticket from her estranged father, Rory, to go home to Kangaroo Island, Australia. But what begins as a reunion to foster reconciliation turns complicated when Lou and her sister learn their father’s secret.

Lesbian Space Princess

Directors: Emma Hough-Hobbs & Leela Varghese
Australia, Feature Animation
premiered at aff 2024

A space princess is thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens. Introverted space princess Saira is devastated when she is unexpectedly dumped by her girlfriend Kiki for being needy. Deep in the depths of despair, Saira is thrown a lifeline when Kiki abruptly calls for help. Kiki has been kidnapped by forgotten incels known as the Straight White Maliens. Problem is, they’re holding her ransom for the one thing Saira doesn’t have: one of the most powerful weapons known to lesbian kind – her royal Labrys! Panicked and with just 24 hours on the clock, Saira sets out to save her ex in the hopes of winning her back. Along the way, a spaceship with a problematic personality and Willow, a runaway gay-pop idol, join Saira’s hazardous encounters with gloom goo, blade-wielding maniacs, dangerous dick turrets and the scariest thing of all: her own self-doubt.

Mockbuster

Director: Anthony Frith
Australia, Feature Documentary
Seeking additional investment

If you’ve seen The Da Vinci Treasure, Atlantic Rim and Tom Invader, you have been tricked by The Asylum, a US-based production company responsible for producing ‘mockbusters’ — low-budget films created to exploit the publicity of upcoming major releases. The Asylum have agreed to let Anthony, whose once-promising career brimming with creative ambition has since dwindled into a soulless corporate grind, direct a mockbuster in Australia. With only a micro-budget and six-day shoot, Anthony must deliver 90 minutes of usable footage towards his debut feature, a challenge that will push him and his ragtag crew to their limits. Will Anthony finally be able to balance his artistic aspiration with commercial reality? Or will this destroy his career and creativity entirely?

The Iron Winter

Director: Kasimir Burgess
Australia and Mongolia
Feature Documentary
In post-production, 2025 release

In Mongolia’s coldest valley, horses mean life. But in the Iron Winter, nothing can survive alone. For countless generations, the herders of the Tsakhir Valley have protected their horses from ferocious arctic storms by amassing a giant winter herd, nominating their bravest young men to protect it. The daring tradition served as a brutal coming of age ritual, until five years ago, when under increasing environmental pressure, it abruptly ended. Fearful about the loss of culture, elders soon vowed to revive it. And two young friends were handed the daunting responsibility to not only protect the valley’s herd — but to save its most sacred practice. For four months, the boys battle Mongolia’s deadliest winter on record, testing friendship and faith in a fight to keep 2000 horses alive, and preserve an ancient way of life.

With or Without You

Director: Kelly Schilling
Australia, Feature Fiction
premiered at aff 2024

Chloe, 26, sets out to remove her entertaining but alcoholic mother Sharon from the claws of temptation, with plans to take them both to start new lives in idyllic Byron Bay. But when Chloe’s ex-boyfriend torches her caravan and everything in it, including her life savings, they find themselves on an unexpected road trip with a mysterious West African, Dalu, who’s also determined to make a better life for himself. Passions between Chloe and Dalu ignite, but Chloe resists. The last thing she wants is to follow in her mother’s footsteps by making repeated wrong choices in love. As the three embark on the road trip in Chloe’s rundown wagon, misconceptions, misunderstandings, and miscommunications along with humour, detours and wrong turns, lead to the realisation that facing your fears is the first step to freedom.