PRESS RELEASE
Lotterywest Films returns on Monday 24 November, kicking off one of Perth’s most loved summer traditions. For 18 glorious weeks, the iconic Somerville pines will host captivating cinema under the stars combining summer and movies in one unforgettable season.
Adventures, pulse-quickening thrillers, eye opening documentaries, spicy rom coms and emotion-soaked dramas ensure there’s something to excite, shock, entertain, move and amuse all cinema lovers. The program will take audiences across the globe and introduce them to new faces and places, offering access to the insights and imaginations of the world’s best filmmakers.
From the streets of 1960s Paris and the mountain villages of Italy to the coastlines of Brazil and the towns of the American south, these weekly and one-off screenings will continue the long-cherished summer tradition that has been at the heart of Perth Festival since 1953.
The opening week film brings 1960s Paris to life in Richard Linklater’s meticulous and affectionate portrait of the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s legendary feature debut Breathless. An homage to Godard’s genius and the French New Wave, this season opener is a film no cinephile (or anyone) should miss.
The films continue with The Mastermind from the USA, directed by indie icon Kelly Reichardt who traces the journey of an unemployed carpenter turned amateur art thief who plans his first big heist.
Cannes Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value from Denmark/Norway and directed by Joachim Trier is an intimate and moving exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art which follows two sisters as they navigate their relationship with their estranged father.
Winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and directed by Gabriel Mascaro, The Blue Trail, follows a 77-year-old Brazilian woman as she secretly embarks on a journey down the Amazon to realise a long-held dream.
From France/Iran, Palme d’Or–winning director Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident is a powerful revenge drama and real-world triumph against authoritarian oppression, blending moral dilemmas, comic moments, and shocking revelations into a story that lingers long after the credits roll.
The delightful coming-of-age drama DJ Ahmet is the Sundance Audience Award-winner, which follows a spirited 15- year-old boy from North Macedonia as he escapes into the world of dance music, discovering his first love in a modern world that clashes with tradition.
Winner of three major Cannes awards, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent is a genre-bending slow-burn thriller hailed as one of the year’s best, filled with hypnotic tension against a colour-saturated backdrop of ’70s Recife, Brazilian carnival, and political corruption.
Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud crafts a quietly powerful coming-of-age drama in Dreams, where a teenage girl’s forbidden crush sparks a creative and emotional awakening.
Winner of the Cannes Jury Prize, Sirât follows a father and son’s search for a missing daughter in the Moroccan desert’s rave communities, exploring existence, loss, and grief in breathtaking ways.
The Cannes Caméra d’Or–winning The President’s Cake, directed by Hasan Hadi, is a beautifully crafted, humorous yet poignant Iraqi debut that tells a bittersweet fable of life under Saddam Hussein through a child’s eyes.
A joint winner of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize, Sound of Falling is a haunting saga tracing the lives of four girls whose stories echo one another through generations.
From the UK/Ireland, director Harry Lighton’s Pillion follows a timid man swept from his dreary suburban life by a handsome, enigmatic biker (Alexander Skarsgård), who takes him on as his submissive.
From Spain, director Eva Libertad’s Deaf, the Berlinale Panorama Audience Award winner, is a refreshingly honest look at motherhood and the love between a deaf and hearing couple expecting their first child.
Silent Friend weaves together three distinct human lives over a century, as a majestic ginkgo tree in a German university town silently observes the passage of time and the shifting shapes of love and loss.
The Venice 2024 Grand Jury Prize winner, The Mountain Bride Vermiglio, directed by Maura Delpero, is an intimate portrait of a family in a remote Italian Alps village during the final days of WWII.
Matthew McConaughey stars in The Rivals of Amziah King, a boisterous Deep South ballad from Andrew Patterson, blending Coen Brothers–style hijinks, musical interludes, and a touching crime caper about a banjo-strumming bee professor who reconnects with his former foster daughter to discover what makes a place a home.
For the first time, Lotterywest Films is thrilled to host several films alongside the Perth Festival month of February. Over four weeks, this subversive calendar of movies will offer a vivid celebration of global and WA storytelling. From the haunting The Voice of Hind Rajab, darkly absurdist Two Prosecutors, and whimsical The Tale of Silyan, to the powerful documentaries Mr Nobody Against Putin and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk. Two debut Australian directors will see their stories hit the big screen, with the biting satire Birthright and thought-provoking First Light joining the lineup, with the intimate documentary Broken English closing out the month.
WHEN: 24 Nov – 29 Mar, gates open 6pm
WHERE: UWA Somerville / Godroo / Crawley
TICKETS: $24, 6-ticket film pack $129, 12-ticket film pack $231, Cheap Tuesdays $12 per ticket, available at perthfestival.com.au.
Lotterywest Films is supported by
