The 73rd Sydney Film Festival (SFF) will take place from Wednesday 3 June to Sunday 14 June 2026. The Festival will bring together world premieres, Australian exclusives and red carpet events across Sydney, in celebration of cinema.
“As we prepare for the 73rd Sydney Film Festival, we remain committed to championing filmmakers with a distinct voice and a strong point of view,” said Sydney Film Festival’s Festival Director, Nashen Moodley.
Beyond the screenings, audiences will take part in filmmaker Q&As, industry talks, public programs, themed parties and special events that turn Sydney into a hub for cinema. The Festival will be held at iconic venues including the State Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Event Cinema George St, State Library of NSW, Dendy Cinema Newtown, The Ritz Randwick, Hayden Orpheum Cremorne, Palace Cinemas Central + Norton Street, the Art Gallery of NSW and more.
This year the Festival program features seven films that bring together a striking body of work in which some of the world’s most distinctive filmmakers turn fashion into a lens on identity, culture and power. From the ateliers of Paris to the factory floors of China, these films trace how clothing reflects and shapes the societies that produce it, moving between documentary and fiction, and between candid portraits and global perspectives.
A centrepiece will be the Australian premiere of Marc by Sofia, Sofia Coppola’s first documentary, offering a personal picture of longtime friend, designer Marc Jacobs, and his creative world. Also featured is the world premiere of Australian film French Girls, directed by Hyun Lee, following a young woman drawn into Sydney’s modelling industry after being scouted, as she begins to navigate its shifting expectations and pressures.
Acclaimed filmmakers have long turned their attention to the fashion industry from multiple perspectives. From the recently deceased master, Frederick Wiseman’s Model offers a landmark depiction of a New York modelling agency, observing castings, shoots and the relentless demands of image-making, while Jia Zhangke’s Useless traces the human cost of industrial production across China’s garment industry, from factory floors to haute couture runways. Chronicles of influential figures in fashion and culture also feature. Agnès Varda’s Jane B. par Agnès V. offers a playful and unconventional portrait of Jane Birkin, while Wim Wenders’ Notebook on Cities and Clothes follows designer Yohji Yamamoto, reflecting on creativity, authorship and the parallels between filmmaking and fashion.
Sydney Film Festival Senior Programmer Jessica Moraza said, “The relationship between fashion and film extends far beyond the traditional fashion documentaries we know and love. In this special series, we wanted to highlight instances where some of cinema’s most distinctive directors have brought their singular perspective to the fashion world.”
The films in the strand include:
• French Girls (2026) Dir. Hyun Lee
• Marc by Sofia (2025) Dir. Sofia Coppola
• Useless (2007) Dir. Jia Zhangke
• Prêt-à-Porter (1994) Dir. Robert Altman
• Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) Dir. Wim Wenders
• Jane B. par Agnès V. (1988) Dir. Agnès Varda
• Model (1980) Dir. Frederick Wiseman
Tickets to SARTORIAL: FASHION ON FILM, as well as Flexipasses and subscriptions to Sydney Film Festival 2026 are on sale now.
Call 1300 733 733 or visit Sydney Film Festival for more information.
The full Sydney Film Festival program is announced on Wednesday 6 May 2026, when tickets to all films will be on sale.