What kind of impact is Australian independent film currently having on the wider world? Five answers will be revealed at next month’s Cannes Film Festival. The festival will introduce ongoing films to overseas buyers and programmers through its “Adelaide Film Festival Goes to Cannes” program.
This selection is notable for its geographic scope. The documentary Death of a Shaman, directed by Dan Jackson, is a co-production between Australia and Ecuador that chronicles the conflict between indigenous communities and foreign oil interests. Director Agnes Burrell’s “Polina” (another documentary in the lineup) follows a Ukrainian child whose family remains near the remains of a village on the outskirts of Kiev, tracing how armed conflict becomes nothing more than a coming-of-age process. Among fictional titles, Dominic Allen’s “Tiber” moves through Tuscany, a place rich in cultural memory, toward a moment of personal reckoning.
The Goes to Cannes series, a seven-part showcase of works in progress from festivals and markets around the world, organized by the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film, will offer two new awards in 2026. The OCS+ award is 15,000 euros ($17,725) to the French distributor of the Goes to Cannes project, and the AH Media Production award is 10,000 euros ($11,800) in cash. These awards join the prestigious Sideral Cinema Award, which offers a minimum guarantee of €10,000 for one of the projects.
All five titles are either in post-production or recently completed. Take a closer look at the Adelaide Film Festival’s line-up to Cannes:
“Death of a Shaman” (Dan Jackson, Future Paradigm Pictures, Australia/Ecuador)
Produced by Dan Jackson through Future Paradigm Pictures, the documentary follows an indigenous Ecuadorian family at the center of an International Monetary Fund-backed resistance movement against oil extraction, using traditional knowledge and ties to the land to fuel a widespread uprising. The film, which was shot in four languages: English, Spanish, Kichwa and Shuar, is expected to be completed this year.
“Polina” (Agnes Burrell, Michael Wren, Invisible Republic, Australia/Ukraine)
The documentary, directed by Agnes Burrell and produced by Michael Wren through Invisible Republic, focuses on the children whose villages near Kiev were destroyed in the early weeks of the 2022 invasion. Her family remains near the ruins, and the film depicts the occupation and its aftermath as the mundane backdrop of her adolescence. Aiming for delivery in 2027.
“River” (Zane Borg, Gabriel Carrubba, Pancake Originals, Australia)
The only completed title in the lineup, it was directed by Zane Borg and produced by Gabriel Carrubba through Pancake Originals. A 16-year-old, still fresh from the death of his mother, finds a connection with another teenager with unresolved family wounds. The two end up going on an unscheduled drive across state lines to find the boy’s missing mother. The film was completed in 2025.
“Tiber” (Dominic Allen, Margarita DeCoster, Windy Lighthouse Studios, Australia)
Directed by Dominic Allen and produced by Margarita DeCoster through Windy Lighthouse Studios, the drama tells the story of an Italian art historian who is fired from his job in Rome and moves south through Tuscany with his young daughter, whose journey through a landscape rich in cultural memory gradually reveals the sadness he has been avoiding for years. Scheduled for completion in 2026.
“Wilderness” (Martin McKenna, Matt Govoni, Future Pictures, Australia)
Produced by Matt Govoni through Future Pictures and directed by Martin McKenna, the drama is about a woman who abandons her medical career and marriage to head to the Victorian Highlands with an old schoolmate. A trip meant to be an escape turns into real danger and forces her to confront her own decisions. This is also scheduled for 2026.
