As we step into a new year and in a bid to get you to open you up to more Australian films, filmmakers, and storytellers, I’m throwing you down a challenge:
In 2026, I want you to watch 26 Australian films throughout the year. That’s one Aussie film a fortnight, or if you really want to go whole wombat on it all, you can mainline them all in a month. How you watch the films is up to you, but I do encourage you to watch as many as you can.
Film challenges are great ways of introducing yourself to new films or encouraging the rediscovery of old favourites. I’ve outlined 26 prompts below which will provide some guidance for the challenge. If you’re stuck for recommendations of suggestions for a category, feel free to reach out and I’ll give you a title or three to consider.
If you want to discuss what you’re viewing a bit more, consider joining our paid membership for as little as $2 a month where you can get access to our members only Discord group.
Here is your list of prompts for the 2026 Australian Film challenge #Aussiex26 and some recommended titles to get you started.
1. A film from Flicks.com.au’s 25 Greatest Australian Films of the 21st century list
· Hail (Amiel Courtin-Wilson); Noise (Matthew Saville); Sherpa (Jennifer Peedom)
2. An Australian film released in 2026
· Wolfram (Warwick Thornton); We Bury the Dead (Zak Hilditch); The Deb (Rebel Wilson)
3. A Rolf de Heer film
· Dingo; Ten Canoes; Charlie’s Country
4. An AFI Best Film Winner (See the wiki list for winners, noting the last AFI winner was Animal Kingdom in 2010)
· Look Both Ways (Sarah Watt); Lantana (Ray Lawrence); Proof (Jocelyn Moorhouse)
5. An Ozploitation film (see this wiki list or watch Not Quite Hollywood for suggestions)
· The Man from Hong Kong (Brian Trenchard-Smith); Road Games (Richard Franklin); Stork (Tim Burstall)
6. A film made prior to 1950
· The Story of the Kelly Gang (Charles Tait); The Sentimental Bloke (Raymond Longford); 40,000 Horsemen (Charles Chauvel)
7. An Aussie sports film
· Year of the Dogs (Michael Cordell); Phar Lap (Simon Wincer); Crackerjack (Paul Moloney)
8. A film featuring a kangaroo
· Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff); Kangaroo (Kate Woods); Welcome to Woop Woop (Stephan Elliott)
9. Australian comedies
· Hot Mess (Lucy Coleman); Audrey (Natalie Bailey); Malcolm (Nadia Tass)
10. A short film
· Lean In (Lucy Coleman); Call Connect (Indianna Bell, Josiah Allen); Audio Guide (Chris Elena)
11. Token international actor
· John Goodman in Dirty Deeds (David Caesar); Emily Watson in Oranges and Sunshine (Jim Loach); Nic Cage in The Surfer (Lorcan Finnegan)
12. Australia - Hollywood style: A film shot in Australia that isn’t Australian
· On the Beach (Stanley Kramer); The Pyjama Girl Case (Flavio Mogherini); Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze)
13. An Australian film you've never seen before
14. A Platon Theodoris film
· The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour; Alvin’s Harmonious World of Opposites; Wine Lake
15. An Australian film from the 2020s
· Relic (Natalie Erika James); Birdeater (Jack Clark, Jim Weir); Audrey Napanangka (Penelope McDonald)
16. Cannes award winners and nominees (search on Screen Australia for winners and nominees)
· Samson & Delilah (Warwick Thornton); Love, Serenade (Shirley Barrett); Nitram (Justin Kurzel)
17. Australian films or creatives nominated or who have won Oscars (see the Screen Australia list for nominees and winners)
· Tanna (Bentley Dean, Martin Butler); Strictly Ballroom (Baz Luhrmann); Babe (Chris Noonan)
18. Aussie horror
· Lake Mungo (Joel Anderson); Monolith (Matt Vesely); You Won’t Be Alone (Goran Stolevski)
· Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford); Money Movers (Bruce Beresford); The Empty Beach (Chris Thomson)
20. Starring Susan Prior
· The Rover (David Michôd); Book Week (Heath Davis); Suburban Mayhem (Paul Goldman)
21. Written by Everett de Roche
· Razorback; Long Weekend; Storm Warning
22. Aw no - films where non-Australians do an Australian accent
· Robert Downey Jr. in Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone); Kate McKinnon in Rough Night (Lucia Aniello); Liev Schrieber in Mental (P.J. Hogan)
23. An Ivan Sen Film
· Beneath Clouds; Goldstone; Limbo
24. Sally Aitken
· Playing with Sharks; Every Little Thing; David Stratton: A Cinematic Life
25. the Curb’s Best Films of the 2010s
· All This Mayhem (Eddie Martin); Downriver (Grant Scicluna); Here I Am (Beck Cole)
26. An Australian Film You’ve Seen Before