Published Tuesday 17 February 2026

Reality meets imagination this season at the National Film and Sound Archive. The Autumn Film Series presents powerful storytelling and big-screen spectacle, inviting audiences to question reality, explore new perspectives and enjoy cinema that lingers long after the credits roll.  Magic realism, social realism and Cinema Verité dive into the tension between fantasy and reality. Beyond the screen, this season fosters moments of genuine connection with a range of community-focused festivals and partnerships. 

The NFSA’s welcoming spaces provide inclusive programs that celebrate creativity in all its forms. The Sign on Screen Film Festival presents sign language cinema from around the world, with a strong focus on Deaf-led Australian content in Auslan. The NFSA, in partnership with Deaf Connect and the Australian National University, will host screenings, workshops with Deaf filmmakers, and live performances. All events are free and fully accessible in Auslan or English.

UPSTAGEING Canberra is Australia’s first large-scale Creative Ageing Arts Festival celebrating the talent and diversity of older Canberrans. Arc Cinema will present a curated collection of screenings—306 Hollywood (2018), Cocoon (1985), Quartet and Winter at Westbeth (2016)—blending humor and resilience as they reflect on life, connection, and the spaces we call home. 

Arc Cinema will mark Trans Day of Visibility with the cult classic Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), which follows a gender-queer glam-punk singer on an emotional road trip across America. 

Audiences are invited to explore journeys from page to screen in a new collaboration between ABC Radio Canberra and the NFSA. Book Club at NFSA kicks off with an opportunity to explore storytelling across timelines. Explore contemporary reflections on identity and ambition in American Fiction (2023) and timeless tales of love, adventure and human emotion in The Princess Bride (1987) and Wuthering Heights (2026). Film lovers and readers enjoy the film and then stay for interactive conversations with broadcasters Alice Matthews and Rhian Williams from ABC Afternoons Book Corner Book Club.

Reflections on Australia’s past and present are offered in two powerful First Nations stories. Coinciding with Reconciliation Week, One Mind, One Heart (2025) follows First Nations-led practices of shared decision-making and cultural renewal and focuses on one community’s effort to return a historic Yirrkala bark petition to Yolngu country.  A Q&A with director Larissa Behrendt follows.  High Ground (2020) confronts Australia’s frontier past, following a pursuit that exposes buried atrocities and complex loyalties in post–World War I Arnhem Land. Guided by Elder Witiyana Marika, the film presents a fictionalised retelling of true events. Director Steven Johnson joins audiences for a post-screening Q&A.

CLIPPED Music Video Festival takes centre stage at Arc Cinema this season with an appearance by celebrated Yolngu rapper, dancer and artist Baker Boy. The festival welcomes unreleased music videos to the big screen in an exclusive showcase celebrating Australia’s most exciting artists and filmmakers. Featured videos include the ACT premiere of the documentary Baker Boy – The Making of DJANDJAY, followed by an insightful Q&A with Danzal Baker himself.

Compelling documentaries offer audiences moments of deep connection to lives and stories beyond their own. POINTE: Dancing on a Knife’s Edge (2025) follows Floeur Alder whose promising dance career is dramatically disrupted after a knife attack in Perth. The film presents a moving portrait of artistry forged under pressure and will be followed by a Q&A with Floeur Alder and Dr Cathy Adamek, Director of Ausdance ACT.  Then, moving beyond simple portraiture, Risk (2016) follows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over several years. Writer‑director Laura Poitras captures shifting alliances, internal tensions, and the personal cost of radical transparency. 

This season invites viewers to question reality alongside the characters on screen, with the tender romance of Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water (2017), a journey of self-discovery in Labyrinth (1986) and the surreal neo-noir mystery of Mulholland Drive (2001).  All ages can share in the magic of fantasy, from swashbuckling adventures in Hook (1991) to timeless tales like The Wizard of Oz (1939), and the graceful, elemental storytelling of The Red Turtle (2016), which traces birth, companionship, and loss.  A sweet highlight for kids big and small is an Easter Sunday chocolate egg hunt in the heritage courtyard before the screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). 

A new Science. Art. Film. series explores humanity’s fragile relationship with nature and the need for balance in our ever-changing world.  It pairs screenings of Jurassic Park (1993), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1987) with inspiring researcher-led discussions to unpack the ideas raised on screen. Science. Art. Film.  is presented in partnership with the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at ANU.

Cinema history will be celebrated with the 40th anniversary of Malcolm (1986) screening in 35mm and preceded by the Canberra Symphony Orchestra performing selections from the celebrated soundtrack by the Penguin Café Orchestra. Starring Colin Friels and written by David Parker and Nadia Tass, who also directs, the film follows a socially awkward tram enthusiast who becomes an unlikely accomplice in a bank robbery after designing an ingenious getaway car. Warm, gently comic and deeply humane, Malcolm celebrates difference, trust and belonging. At the time of release, it won eight AFI Awards (now AACTA Awards) including Best Film and Best Screenplay. A Q&A with Nadia Tass and David Parker will follow the screening. 

Rounding out the season, Cult Classics continues to deliver monthly cinema with bite. The season features pop‑culture rom-coms like Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and indie breakthroughs like Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989). Each screening includes an introduction and performance by host Venus Mantrap, local drag artist and culture warrior.

'The Autumn Film Series is brimming with magic and adventure. We’re inviting audiences to travel from gritty truth-telling dramas into wondrous fantasy. This program celebrates cinema’s power to reveal unexpected realities and illuminate possibilities that sit just beyond the edges of everyday experiences.'  - Alice Taylor, Creative Producer & Program Coordinator at the NFSA.

‘The NFSA’s Autumn Film Series is a doorway to discover and connect. Everyone is welcome to enjoy golden afternoons in our heritage courtyard or an evening in Canberra’s most beautiful cinema. Make new friends and share ideas with a glass of wine, or perhaps a coffee and home-made tiramisu from our onsite deli and bar Dom’s. There’s always something to see and do at the NFSA, including plenty of your favourite films.’ - Greg Lissaman, Head of Programs and Operations at the NFSA.

⭐ Program highlights. 
📅 Digital Autumn Film Series program (dates included) 
📷 Download images via Dropbox.   
 
Media enquiries and interview requests:  
Irina Agaronyan | Communications Specialist 
0439 382 064 | Irina.Agaronyan@nfsa.gov.au 

Autumn Film Highlights