AFF Goes to Cannes 2026, Through the Eyes of the Filmmakers
For the third year running, AFF has partnered with the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film to showcase Australian filmmaking to the world’s largest film market.
In 2026, Wilderness, Tiber, River, Polina and Death of a Shaman were selected to showcase as part of AFF Goes to Cannes. For the filmmakers involved, it was an opportunity to step into the centre of the international screen industry, share their work, and start conversations around where their films might travel next.
Following Cannes, we asked some of the filmmakers to reflect on their experience.
Zane Borg said: “RIVER very well might have died on my hard drive if it weren't for the AFF Goes to Cannes program. Making a good film is one battle, letting the world know about it is another. Thanks to the exposure and support we've received from AFF and the Goes to Cannes initiative, our homegrown film now has a future in the global marketplace. Mat, Gail and the entire AFF team are doing the work necessary to see our local independent filmmakers thrive.”
Dominic Allen said: "The AFF Goes to Cannes platform gave us direct access to sales agents, distributors and festival programmers at the highest level, and opened conversations that would not have been possible otherwise. For an independent debut feature, this kind of market exposure is phenomenally helpful.”
Dan Jackson said: “Being part of the AFF Goes to Cannes program was an incredible experience. It gave the team the opportunity to put our project in front of key global decision makers in the world’s most important festival. As a result, our project garnered strong interest from both sales agents and festivals alike.”
Martin McKenna said: “The opportunity to take part in the 'AFF goes to Cannes' programme in 2026 was a game-changing-door-opener for our film. We are not quite one week back in Australia and already more than a dozen sales agents from around the world have requested to see the finished film. This kind of exposure at a prestige event would not have been possible without Mat and the team at AFF. As well as the opportunities for our film, it was a special time to share with other Australian film makers who all had brilliant films to sample at the screening. It was a wonderful (and fun) cohort to be a part of.”
Since the initiative began in 2024, projects from the programme have continued on to festivals, markets and cinemas around the world. Among them are Lesbian Space Princess, which won the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, and The Iron Winter, which screened in competition at Visions du Réel in Switzerland.
This year, five more Australian projects stepped into those same rooms and started conversations of their own.
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