The Sydney Film Festival (SFF) has officially unveiled its 2026 programme, featuring five films from Aotearoa. Among them is the short film Kurī, edited by Sam Small (DEGANZ). Also selected is the documentary feature Lomu, co-directed by DEGANZ member Vea Mafile’o. Continuing its successful release and joining the lineup is Tenor: My Name is Pati, directed by Rebecca Tansley (DEGANZ) and edited by fellow member Thomas Gleeson.
Since its inception in 1954, SFF has grown in size and reputation to become a leading international film festival in Australia. It celebrates the best of world cinema, screening features, documentaries, short films, retrospectives and a series of industry and public talks.
This year, SFF will present 248 films from 81 countries, including 19 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres and 140 Australian Premieres, with screenings at the State Theatre, Sydney Opera House and cinemas across the city.
Festival Director Nashen Moodley comments on this year’s line-up:
Art and cinema help us make sense of the world, take us into the lives of people far away from us, and remind us to remain vigilant about our own rights and freedoms. And we can’t forget, they’re also an enormous source of joy.
Read more about the projects from DEGANZ members below.
Short Film – First Nations Award
Editor: Sam Small
After her father’s death, a young woman returns to Te Urewera, confronting grief and memory in a poetic, gothic meditation on home and belonging.
Feature Documentary – International Documentaries Strand
Directors: Vea Mafile’o and Gavin FitzGerald
This exhilarating documentary charts the rise of rugby legend Jonah Lomu, a once-in-a-lifetime talent and sporting icon who would go on to change the landscape of rugby forever.
Rugby legend Jonah Lomu was a phenom from the start, sprinting 100 metres in under 11 seconds and becoming the youngest ever All Black at just 19 years old. His explosive impact at the 1995 Rugby World Cup transformed him into the sport’s first global superstar. That same year, he was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a life-threatening kidney condition that would shape the rest of his life and career. Yet his courage never faded, and he continued to play at an elite level for years to come. Directors Gavin FitzGerald and Vea Mafile’o pay a pitch-perfect tribute to a true Kiwi-Tongan warrior through spectacular game footage, newly revealed family archives, and intimate reflections from those closest to him.
Feature Documentary – Sounds on Screen Strand
Director: Rebecca Tansley
Editor: Thomas Gleeson
A stirring portrait of acclaimed Samoan-born New Zealand tenor Pene Pati and his brother Amitai, the voices behind the beloved Aotearoa popera phenomenon SOL3 MIO.
Hailed as the new Pavarotti, New Zealand’s Pene Pati is one of opera’s brightest young voices, astonishing audiences worldwide with his unique timbre. Alongside his brother Amitai, they have become unlikely stars of the European operatic stage. In this candid documentary, award-winning director Rebecca Tansley (The Heart Dances, SFF 2019) follows Pene and Amitai as they reflect on their journey from childhood church performances in South Auckland to international acclaim in Paris, London and beyond. Studded with breathtaking performances, the film explores the deep bonds of family and culture that shaped them and their ongoing reconciliation of where those roots sit within the world of opera.
