DRAMAS
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A RARE GRAND ALIGNMENT
Palace Byron Bay
From Cinqué Lee comes a hauntingly beautiful coming-of-age tale set in the winter of 1982, when three American boys become stranded in a cable car high above the snowy Norwegian wilderness. Starring Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit), A Rare Grand Alignment unfolds under a sky lit by the Northern Lights - a breathtaking backdrop for a gripping story of friendship, guilt, and survival. Visually stunning and emotionally raw, it’s a rare cinematic achievement that lingers long after the credits roll.
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BIRTHRIGHT
Palace Byron Bay
BBFF2025 opens with Birthright, a sharp, darkly funny Aussie satire where boomer wealth meets millennial despair. When Cory and his pregnant wife move back in with his parents, a “temporary” stay spirals into a pressure cooker of entitlement, resentment, and generational tension. Premiering at Tribeca, Zoe Pepper’s debut is a theatrical, twisted, and painfully relatable comedy about housing, family, and the high cost of free rent. A cracked mirror held up to modern Australia - with laughs and bruises in equal measure.
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DJ AHMET
Palace Byron Bay
In a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia, 15-year-old Ahmet finds unexpected freedom through music as he grapples with tradition, family expectations, and first love. Writer-director Georgi M. Unkovski’s debut is a heartfelt, humorous coming-of-age story brimming with charm, lovable characters, and an infectious soundtrack. DJ Ahmet is a joyful ode to self-expression and the power of music to bridge generations, cultures, and hearts - leaving audiences smiling long after the beat drops.
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HAPPYEND
Palace Byron Bay
In a surveillance-heavy near-future Tokyo, five high school friends face their final year under constant watch. When a harmless prank sparks a school-wide crackdown, friendships are tested as AI-powered systems punish even small acts of rebellion. Happyend, the debut narrative feature from Neo Sora (Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus), is a tender, quietly urgent portrait of youth, resistance, and the fragility of freedom. A beautifully performed and deeply resonant story about growing up in a world that’s closing in.
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IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Palace Byron Bay
Winner of the 2025 Cannes Palme d’Or, It Was Just an Accident is the latest masterwork from Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi. What begins with a late-night stop at a rural repair shop spirals into a tense, darkly comic tale of revenge and uncertainty. As a mechanic kidnaps a man he believes once tortured him, doubt sets in - and the search for truth turns chillingly absurd. Blending suspense, gallows humour and moral complexity, Panahi proves once again why he’s one of cinema’s most fearless voices.
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MAGIC FARM
Palace Byron Bay
When a clueless New York media crew lands in rural Argentina chasing a viral story, only to realise they’re in the wrong country, chaos ensues. Desperate to justify their trip, they stage a fake cultural trend - roping in the locals as unwitting participants. Featuring Chloë Sevigny, Magic Farm is a surreal, deadpan satire of media arrogance, cultural tourism, and the Western gaze. Director Amalia Ulman blends lo-fi aesthetics, sharp wit, and surprising tenderness in this sly, genre-bending critique of content culture.
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SIRAT
Palace Byron Bay
Deep in the mountains of southern Morocco, a father and son search for Mar - daughter and sister - who vanished months earlier at a desert rave. Amid pounding music, disorientation, and the haze of sleepless nights, they press on with only a photo and fading hope. Following ravers to one final party in the wilderness, the journey becomes an intense reckoning with loss, connection, and limits. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, this is a hypnotic, soul-searching odyssey.
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UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
Palace Byron Bay
In a dreamlike Winnipeg that feels part Tehran, part Canada, Universal Language unfolds in three absurdly tender tales - a wintry quest sparked by a frozen banknote, a baffled tour of a strange city, and a son's quiet displacement from his mother’s affections. Matthew Rankin’s genre-defying comedy blends deadpan wit with melancholic whimsy. Winner of the inaugural Cannes Critics’ Fortnight Audience Award and MIFF’s Bright Horizons Award, it’s a strange, beautiful ode to belonging, memory, and the mysteries of home.
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SHORT FILM SESSION: STAY STRANGE
Palace Byron Bay
Because normal is a myth... Stay Strange flips the bird to conformity with a bold selection of short films that are anything but safe. Headlining the session is the World Premiere of Strange Attractor by Byron’s own Hadley Perkins - a darkly funny outback tale where satire, volatility and mischief collide. From soulful to surreal, spiky to absurd, these shorts celebrate outsiders, rebels and the beautifully unconventional. Expect sharp wit, emotional jolts, and moments that gleam with strange, unforgettable magic.
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YOUNG AUSTRALIAN FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR
Palace Byron Bay
In the pulsating heart of the Australian film landscape lies a gem that sparkles with the promise of tomorrow: the Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Competition. An integral part of the Byron Bay International Film Festival (BBFF) since 2007, this competition has, year after year, stood as a beacon for budding filmmakers, calling out to those who dare to dream big.