12 Australian Films To Watch At Adelaide Film Festival 2026

Australian cinema is a major part of the Adelaide Film Festival 2026 program, with new features, documentaries, experimental films and shorts screening across the festival. This year’s program includes several films supported by the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.

I’ve reviewed the AFF 2026 program and pulled together the Australian films to watch as the festival begins this October.

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Agata the Writer

Australian Agata travels to Sarajevo to work on a war novel. Met with suspicion by the locals, Agata comes to a greater understanding of her responsibilities as an author.

The AFF Investment Fund-supported film arrives in Adelaide following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

KUMARANGK: Sacred Women’s Business

Through extraordinary interviews and richly textured archive, KUMARANGK: Sacred Women’s Business restores humanity to one of Australia’s most divisive cultural conflicts, returning the story to the women who lived it.

Tracey Rigney directs KUMARANGK: Sacred Women’s Business, which will premiere at AFF 2026.

The Forbidden Aunt

An actress documents her enigmatic Serbian aunt’s story, revealing family secrets and personal history in a dark comedy exploring female trauma across generations.

Aftermath

Who takes care of the emotionally scarred survivors of an atrocity after everyone else moves on? This sobering and insightful documentary bears witness to trauma’s harrowing effects and the seductive pull of alternative facts — where even the unlikeliest of people can be ensnared.

Aftermath will have its world premiere at AFF 2026.

Lucrum

When June is adopted by Anna, a renowned pianist living on a sprawling estate, June imagines a life of comfort and privilege. But this place harbours secrets, and June soon discovers she’s merely a pawn in a deadly covenant.

Lucrum is the third feature produced through Film Lab: New Voices, an initiative of Adelaide Film Festival, the South Australian Film Corporation and Screen Australia. 

Boss Cat

Confronted with a world that too often limits the capabilities of people with Down syndrome, Sonja (Olivia Hargroder) carves her own path on the dance floor alongside cheerleading mate Hakim (Elijah Williams). If only her gran, played by The Diplomat’s Penny Downie, can let her fly free.

River

River (Mia Barret) wants to run away from it all, following the tragic death of her mother. But when she falls in with bad boy Marcus (My Brilliant Career’s William McKenna), his insistence on ‘no strings attached’ actually leads the way to a place of hope and healing for both wounded souls.

Sweet Milk Lake

After being mistaken for his twin brother by his estranged and dying dad, a soft-spoken trans man relishes the opportunity to be one of the boys, until the weight of the lie becomes heavier than his need for the truth.

Wilderness

A suburban doctor-mom in crisis reconnects with old friend Kaz on a road trip through Victoria’s high country. Their escape turns perilous, leading Allie to face her life’s troubles and learn about connection.

Joins AFF after screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2026.

The Piano Tuner

A dedicated piano tuner on a rescue mission encounters various owners and their pianos, uncovering the unique stories and bonds they share with the instrument.

Phenomena

A psychedelic odyssey into the fabric of the universe, guided by a filmmaker’s immersive practical experiments that transcend into a deeply hypnotic audio-visual experience of awe and human connection to the natural world.

The Best Summer

Raw footage captures 90s alt-rock legends performing, talking and hanging backstage. Follow Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps and Bikini Kill in their prime.

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AFF will also showcase Australian short filmmaking with its dedicated Australian Shorts program.

Adelaide Film Festival 2026 runs from October 14-25.

Which Australian films are you planning to see at AFF this year? Let us know in the comments below.

[Information and descriptions supplied by Adelaide Film Festival]