SFNFF 2026
3rd Annual Festival September 19,
Celebrating Indigenous storytelling
2026 SFNFF
2026 SFNFF
The Shoalhaven First Nations Film Festival brings together audiences, filmmakers, actors, Elders, artists and Community to celebrate Indigenous storytelling through contemporary cinema.
Held on the South Coast of New South Wales, the festival creates a space for connection, conversation and the sharing of stories that deepen our understanding of Country, Culture and Community.
In 2026, the festival explored two interconnected themes:
Caring for Country, Caring for People, celebrating First Nations leadership
Stories in Their Own Voice, highlighting the work of emerging Indigenous filmmakers, helping shape the future of Australian screen storytelling.
Special Guests
The festival celebrates the coming together of generations, with Elders sharing stories of Country and emerging young Indigenous filmmakers presenting new voices in contemporary cinema.
SCREENING
Marking the 30th anniversary of the handback of Booderee, this documentary celebrates the return of Country to the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community.
Blending family memories with rare archival footage from the 1940s Kimberley, Babanil is a poetic reflection on family, memory and Country. Filmmaker Marlikka Perdrisat weaves together generations through song, ceremony and storytelling, revealing the enduring connections between people, place and belonging.
Across some of Australia's most remote landscapes, Indigenous Rangers are caring for Country through cultural knowledge and environmental stewardship. From protecting endangered wildlife to managing fire and invasive species, this inspiring documentary celebrates the people safeguarding Country for future generations.
Peter’s great-uncle, an Aboriginal WWI soldier, is buried far from his family and traditional lands. Believing his ancestor’s spirit cannot rest until he returns home, Peter travels to France to visit his grave and perform a traditional ceremony to bring his spirit home.
Guided by their Nan's map, three cousins set out to find a secret waterhole in order to fulfil a special request.
Director Dylan Nicholls pieces together the story of Anthony Martin Fernando, an Aboriginal man who protested for Indigenous rights in Europe more than a century ago. Guided by law, memory and spirit carried from home, Fernando’s warnings prove remarkably prophetic. Nicholls’ decision to re-embody Fernando through his own father brings the story back into community.
A visually rich and lyrical exploration of memory, archives and identity, Winhanganha follows acclaimed Wiradjuri artist Jazz Money through poetry, sound and archival film. The documentary invites us to reconsider how Australia remembers its past.
2026 Community Programs
Film is at the heart of the Shoalhaven First Nations Film Festival's work throughout the year. Through screenings, workshops and creative collaborations, the festival celebrates First Nations voices while supporting the next generation of storytellers and strengthening connections across the Shoalhaven.
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Community Screening
SFNFF was invited to present a program of Australian First Nations films as part of the Sussex Inlet Chamber of Commerce Winter Arts Festival.
The screening featured stories celebrating culture, resilience and community from some of Australia's leading First Nations filmmakers.
Films screened
Like My Brother
Occupation Native
Journey Home: David Gulpilil
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Youth Filmmaking Program
To encourage storytelling within the Shoalhaven's First Nations communities, SFNFF delivered a series of smartphone filmmaking workshops for young people and emerging storytellers.
Led by award-winning filmmaker Angela Blake, founder of the SF3 Smartphone Film Festival, participants explored every stage of the filmmaking process, from developing ideas and writing scripts through to storyboarding, filming and editing using the technology already in their hands.
Following the workshops, participants received small-group tuition and one-on-one mentoring to continue developing their stories through film and podcasting.
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Reconciliation Week Screening
As part of Reconciliation Week, SFNFF partnered with Shoalhaven City Council to present a special program celebrating stories from the NSW South Coast.
The screening highlighted the resilience of local First Nations communities and the importance of preserving history, language and cultural knowledge through film.
Films screened
The Rock by Luke McLeod Ebsworth
Nhandi, a TIDES PROJECT
Black Cockatoo (Nowra Public School)
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On 25 July, 2026 SFNFF screened Luke McLeod Ebsworth’s The Rock, and Wolfram directed by Warwick Thornton.
The Rock shifts in time between the 2020s and the 1820s, 200 years in which white man’s law fails to recognise the rights of First Nations Peoples to their Country and provides a glimpse into the story behind terra nullius.
Wolfram is set in 1932. Based on a true story, the film follows a mother searching for her stolen children, exposing the exploitation of Aboriginal child labour at the Wolfram tungsten mine in the Northern Territory.
Presented in partnership with Huskisson Pictures.
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Shoalhaven City Council
Sussex Inlet Winter Festival
SFNFF wishes to acknowledge the support and assistance of local fim makers Phil Crawford, Jamie Lepre and Luke Killen.
