Australia’s leading international non-fiction film festival, Antenna, has revealed its full program for 2025. Featuring 50 of the most creative, thought-provoking documentaries from around the globe, over the course of 11 days, Antenna is set to turn Sydney into a doc-lovers’ paradise from 6 February 2025.
“I am very proud of this line-up as a whole,” said Festival Director Dudi Rokach. “Each documentary is imaginative, cinematic, and provocative, and I believe together they demonstrate the endless potential of documentary cinema in the hands of a great filmmaker.”
Opening the festival is the Australian premiere of Reas – the second feature by acclaimed Argentine filmmaker Lola Arias. This documentary-musical hybrid follows cis and trans women re-enacting their incarceration experiences through music and performance. Set in Buenos Aires’ abandoned Caseros Prison, Reas transforms personal stories into a powerful act of reclamation.
Fresh from its world premiere at IDFA, Antenna will hold the Australian premiere of About a Hero, the ground-breaking debut feature by artist and filmmaker Piotr Winiewicz. The film delves into the intersection of artificial intelligence and human creativity, built around a script generated by an AI trained on the works of Werner Herzog. Blending fictional mystery with thought-provoking interviews from artists, philosophers, and scientists, About a Hero is an exploration of originality and authenticity in the age of AI.
In addition to showcasing emerging talent, Antenna will host the Australian premieres of ground-breaking works by acclaimed directors. Among them is Separated by legendary filmmaker Errol Morris, which probes one of the darkest chapters in recent American history-family separations at the US-Mexico border.
Apocalypse in the Tropics, Petra Costa’s follow-up to her Oscar-nominated The Edge of Democracy, examines the growing influence of evangelical leaders over Brazilian politics and the chilling rise of the far right; and two parts of the monumental trilogy Youth by visionary filmmaker Wang Bing – Youth (Hard Times) & Youth (Homecoming) – chronicling the lives of young migrant textile workers in Zhili, China.
Other International Highlights:
Confessions of a Good Samaritan
Director and festival guest Penny Lane’s decision to become a ‘Good Samaritan’ by giving one of her kidneys to a stranger turns into a funny and moving personal quest to understand the nature of altruism.
Homegrown
This gripping film follows three alt-right activists during 2020 as they fervently campaign for Trump and lead street protests over alleged election fraud. Homegrown offers a chilling portrait of a movement driving American democracy to the edge.
Union
A powerful Sundance winner, Union chronicles a group of Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, as they take on one of the world’s most powerful corporations. The film captures their unprecedented and courageous fight to unionise their warehouse, revealing the personal and collective stakes at play.
The White House Effect
Told entirely through archival material, The White House Effect reveals the dramatic origin story of the climate crisis and the political battles that shaped it during the George H.W. Bush administration.
Look into my Eyes
In this documentary from filmmaker Lana Wilson (Taylor Swift: Miss Americana), a group of New York City psychics conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing.
Joshatsu: Into Thin Air
In Japan, thousands of people choose to disappear voluntarily each year. Joshatsu offers an intimate glimpse into this phenomenon of “evaporating people,” uncovering the companies that help facilitate these disappearances. The film sensitively explores the emotional struggles of those who vanish and the lingering pain of the loved ones left behind.
From Ground Zero
A collection of 22 short films made in Gaza. Initiated by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, this project gives a voice to 22 Gazan filmmakers to tell the untold stories of the current war on film.
Three Australian feature documentaries and 12 Australian shorts will also screen at the festival, including One Mind, One Heart by Larissa Behrendt, which uncovers the extraordinary story of the three landmark Yirrkala Bark petitions that ignited the fight for Aboriginal rights, and Whoopee Blues – a joyous tribute to the enduring legacy of the Conway brothers (Captain Matchbox) and their timeless contribution to Australian music history.
Antenna will welcome award-winning director Penny Lane as a guest to Sydney. Known for her humour and unconventional approach to the documentary form, Penny has directed critically acclaimed films such as Our Nixon (2013), Nuts! (2016), Hail Satan? (2019), Listening to Kenny G (2021), and Confessions of a Good Samaritan (2023). Penny will present a handpicked collection of cinematic gems from the past, showcasing the films that have profoundly shaped her creative journey.
The 13th edition of the Antenna Documentary Film Festival opens Thursday 6 February in Sydney and runs through until Sunday 16 February 2025. For more information and full program, visit: www.antennafestival.org for details.
Images: Reas (film still) | Confessions of a Good Samaritan (film still)