Fashion and film have always shaped each other, but Sydney Film Festival’s new SARTORIAL: FASHION ON FILM strand is interested in something deeper than beautiful clothes on camera. Running from 3 to 14 June 2026 as part of the 73rd Sydney Film Festival, the seven-film program looks at how fashion can reveal identity, labour, power and performance.
That breadth is what makes the line-up work. The program includes the Australian premiere of Marc by Sofia, Sofia Coppola’s first documentary and a portrait of Marc Jacobs, alongside the world premiere of Australian feature French Girls, directed by Hyun Lee, about a young woman navigating Sydney’s modelling industry after being scouted.
The rest of the selection gives the strand weight. Frederick Wiseman’s Model captures the mechanics of image-making inside a New York modelling agency, while Jia Zhangke’s Useless follows the garment industry from Chinese factory floors to haute couture.[1] Agnès Varda’s Jane B. par Agnès V. and Wim Wenders’ Notebook on Cities and Clothes bring Jane Birkin and Yohji Yamamoto into the frame, while Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter adds fashion-week chaos and satire.
Sydney Film Festival Senior Programmer Jessica Moraza said the series was designed to look beyond familiar fashion documentaries and highlight the ways major directors have brought their own perspective to the fashion world.[1] That is exactly what gives the strand its appeal. Rather than treating fashion as decoration, these films present it as a cultural force — one tied to image, labour and desire as much as glamour.
For anyone interested in cinema, style or the industries behind both, SARTORIAL: FASHION ON FILM looks like one of the smartest specialist strands in this year’s festival. GET TICKETS HERE
At a Glance
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Detail
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Information
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Program
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SARTORIAL: FASHION ON FILM
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Festival
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73rd Sydney Film Festival
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Dates
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3–14 June 2026
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Films
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Seven
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Highlights
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Marc by Sofia, French Girls, Model, Useless, Prêt-à-Porter
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