Sydney film festival 2026: nine of the best movies and one free event

With 248 films to choose from, highlights include The Death of Robin Hood, Leviticus and a ‘psychosexual horror’ starring Hacks’ Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson The Sydney film festival is almost upon us! It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights, it’s time to meet the – no, wait, wrong event. No music, no lights and, please, no talking: this is the hallowed space of the cinema. And an awful lot of it this year, with a program that features 248 films from 81 countries. Here are nine films (and one event) to add to your diary. Hugh Jackman cannot be trusted in any film where a beloved character dies; those who watched Logan, only to see Wolverine reappear in subsequent movies, will know why. Then again, some figures – like old mate Robin of Locksley – can never be killed off; they’re reinvented for every generation. Michael Sarnoski, the director of the terrific Nicolas Cage vehicle Pig, helms A24’s dark take on the Robin Hood story, starring Jackman as you-know-who. It’s being advertised with provocatively revisionist taglines, including “The legend was a lie” and “He was no hero”. Director: Malek Bensmaïl (Algeria/France) Albert Camus’ legendary novel The St