Adelaide Film Festival

{{see also|#Past events}}

An independently financed Adelaide International Film Festival (AIFF) had been held from 1959 to 1980.{{cite web |publisher=State Library of South Australia|url=http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=390&c=3355 |website=SA Memory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401031043/http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=390&c=3355 |archive-date=1 April 2015|date=12 November 2007|title=Adelaide International Film Festival|access-date=10 February 2015}} The idea of a new film festival to stimulate the local film industry and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the South Australian Film Corporation was raised by Premier Mike Rann in 2002, and a director and board were appointed.{{cite web|url=https://www.if.com.au/katrina-sedgwick-to-leave-bigpond-adelaide-film-festival/|website=if.com.au|title=Katrina Sedgwick to leave BigPond Adelaide Film Festival|first=Brendan|last=Swift|date=5 September 2011|access-date=23 May 2019}} The Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund was created to fund the Film Festival and other events.

The inaugural Adelaide (International) Film Festival was held from 28 February to 3 March 2003. It ran a programme of screenings, special events and forums in a number of cinemas across Adelaide. It was the first film festival in Australia to introduce an international competition, and also the first to create an investment fund specifically for film production.{{cite web | title=Emmy win for Collisions by Lynette Wallworth | website=FilmInk | date=6 October 2017 | url=https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/emmy-win-collisions-lynette-wallworth/ | access-date=22 October 2022}}

After its first edition, the festival ceased to use "International" in its title,[https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/V/R/2004/PUBLIC%20CORPORATIONS%20(ADELAIDE%20INTERNATIONAL%20FILM%20FESTIVAL)%20VARIATION%20REGULATIONS%202004_203/2004.203.UN.RTF Legislation] denoting a withdrawal from FIAPF membership. It was known as the BigPond Adelaide Film Festival, or BAFF, for a period until 2011, as its main sponsor had been BigPond.{{cite web|url=http://adelaidefilmfestival.org/archive/2011/adelaidefilmfestival.org/archives/2011/www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/default-33361.asp.html|title=About|website=Adelaide Film Festival Archive|access-date=23 May 2019}}

Since the first event in 2003, the Festival has been held (originally in odd-numbered years) in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 (a one-off "Rogue" event), 2017, 2018, and a "pop-up" weekend festival in March 2019.{{cite web|website=Adelaide Film Festival|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-adl-film-fest/|title=About ADL Film Fest|access-date=23 May 2019}}

Audiences have grown year on year, with an audience of more than 64,000 people in 2018, and estimated to have had an impact of {{AUD|26.5 million}} on the state's economy.{{cite web | title=All About AFF | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127195318/https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-aff/who-we-are/| url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-aff/who-we-are/|archive-date= 27 November 2020 | access-date=10 September 2020}} The 2022 festival's audience and box office broke all previous records.{{cite web | title=AFF 2022 announces Audience Award winners, and wraps up record-breaking 12 days | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=1 November 2022 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/aff-2022-announces-audience-award-winners-and-wraps-up-record-breaking-12-days/ | access-date=1 November 2022}}

{{As of|July 2022}} the festival had been held 11 times since, usually biennially but as an annual event from 2015 to 2018 (with occasional mini-events in intervening years). In 2022 it was announced that the full festival would be presented each year, instead of biennially, after the Malinauskas government pledged {{AUD|500,000}} annually for the following four years.{{cite web | title=Adelaide Film Festival goes annual | website=InDaily | date=7 July 2022 | url=https://indaily.com.au/inreview/festivals/2022/07/07/adelaide-film-festival-goes-annual/ | access-date=6 September 2022}}{{cite web | title=Adelaide Film Festival to become an annual event | website=IF Magazine | date=7 July 2022 | url=https://if.com.au/adelaide-film-festival-to-become-an-annual-event/ | access-date=6 September 2022}}

In May 2024, Adelaide Film Festival launched its "Adelaide Film Festival Goes to Cannes" program. It partnered with Cannes Film Festival's film market, the Marché du Film, to showcase five local projects in an official presentation, as well as taking a group of ten South Australian filmmakers to participate in a program of activities there. The film projects are Kangaroo Island, Lesbian Space Princess, Mockbuster, The Iron Winter, and With or Without You. Ten filmmakers were selected for the group travelling to Cannes: Sandy Cameron, Ben Golotta, Timothy David, Kelly Schilling, Leela Varghese, Travis Akbar, Lisa Scott, Joshua Trevorrow, Matt Vesely, and Nara Wilson.{{cite web | title=Adelaide Film Festival Goes To Cannes | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=3 May 2024 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/aff-goes-to-cannes-24/ | access-date=5 May 2024}} [https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Adelaide-Film-Festival-Goes-to-Cannes-2024-%E2%80%94-Booklet.pdf Booklet]

From 2017 to 2020, festival events took place mainly at the GU Filmhouse in Hindley Street (defunct as of 1 October 2020), with some sessions at the smaller Mercury Cinema in Morphett Street.

In 2020, most screenings were hosted by Palace Nova at their Eastend and Prospect locations, with some showings at Mitcham Wallis Cinemas at Mitcham Square Shopping Centre, Odeon Star in Semaphore, Tandanya,{{cite web | title=Venues | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=3 September 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/festival-info/venues/ | access-date=10 September 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910090401/https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/festival-info/venues/|archive-date=10 September 2020}} the Warriparinga Wetlands,{{Cite web|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/event/the-personal-history-of-david-copperfield/|title=The Personal History of David Copperfield|date=15 November 2022 }} and at Alberton Oval.{{Cite web|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/event/this-is-port-adelaide/|title = This is Port Adelaide| date=3 December 2020 }} In 2022, for the first time, screenings also took place at the Capri Theatre in Goodwood, Her Majesty's Theatre, and Event Cinemas Marion, in addition to the two Palace Nova locations, Wallis Mitcham, and Odeon Semaphore. In 2024, screenings take place at the recently refurbished Piccadilly Cinema in North Adelaide, as well as the Palace Nova Eastend, Semaphore Odeon, and Mercury Cinema.{{cite web |title=3/11/2024 (Launch) |website=Adelaide Style |date=24 September 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidestyleaccommodation.com.au/post/adelaide-film-festival-23-10-2023-3-11-2024-launch |access-date=15 October 2024}}

Katrina Sedgwick was the festival's founding director in 2002.{{cite news | last = George | first = Sandy | date = 28 May 2002 | title = Sedgwick named director of new Adelaide film festival | work = ScreenDaily | url = http://www.screendaily.com/sedgwick-named-director-of-new-adelaide-film-festival/409442.article | access-date = 10 February 2015 }} She had previously co-founded the 1995 Sydney Fringe Festival, was the Special Events Producer (1998, 2000) for the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and the artistic director for the 2002 Adelaide Fringe.{{cite web|url=http://www.safilmlab.com.au/katrina-sedgwick/ |website=SA Film Lab|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213230807/http://www.safilmlab.com.au/katrina-sedgwick/ |archive-date=13 February 2015|title=Katrina Sedgwick – Advisor|access-date =10 February 2015}} In 2007, Sedgwick introduced an international jury prize to the festival. At the time of her stepping down from the role of Festival director in 2013, Sedgwick said that the festival was the first in Australia to introduce an international competition, and a production fund, and that ticket sales had grown by 20 per cent each year.{{cite news | last = George | first = Sandy | date = 5 September 2011 | title = Adelaide to lose founding director Katrina Sedgwick | work = ScreenDaily | url = http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/other-festivals/adelaide-to-lose-founding-director-katrina-sedgwick/5031530.article | access-date = 10 February 2015 }}

2013 was Amanda Duthie's first year as festival director, after spending eight years at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and eight years at the Special Broadcasting Service during the 1990s.{{cite news | last = George | first = Sandy | date = 8 December 2011 | title = Amanda Duthie to head Adelaide Film Festival | work = SBS | url = http://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2011/12/08/amanda-duthie-head-adelaide-film-festival | access-date = 8 February 2015 }}

{{anchor|kesting}}After running the festival's programming from 2015 to 2018, Mat Kesting was appointed as the new CEO and creative director in 2019.{{cite web |title=Introducing our new CEO/Creative Director, Mat Kesting! |website=Adelaide Film Festival|date=2019 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/news/introducing-our-new-ceocreative-director-mat-kesting |access-date=15 October 2024}} Kesting is originally from Adelaide, and went to Melbourne to study media and cinema studies.{{cite web |last=Korsten |first=Tracey |title=Interview: Adelaide Film Festival CEO Mat Kesting |website=Glam Adelaide |date=15 September 2020 |url=https://glamadelaide.com.au/interview-adelaide-film-festival-ceo-mat-kesting/ |access-date=15 October 2024}} He had become more interested in film while at university, and from 1999 to 2009 ran a filmmaking competition and short-film festival called 15/15 Film Festival, which toured around Australia after an opening event in Melbourne that sold out a large venue.{{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Wendy |last2=Kay |first2=Jeremy |last3=Wong |first3=Silvia |last4=Goodfellow |first4=Melanie|title=Future Leaders 2019: programmers and curators |website=Screen |date=15 October 2024 |url=https://www.screendaily.com/features/future-leaders-2019-programmers-and-curators-asia-africa-and-australia/5139492.article |access-date=15 October 2024}} He was program manager at the Brisbane International Film Festival from 2006 until 2008; programmed six editions of the "On Screen" strand of OzAsia Festival in Adelaide; and was exhibition manager at the Mercury Cinema. In 2019 he was named at Cannes as one of Screen International's Future Leaders. {{as of|2024}} he remains the director of Adelaide Film Festival.{{cite web |first=Helen |last=Barlow |title=French connection: film takes director from KI to Cannes |website=InReview |date=20 May 2024 |url=https://inreview.com.au/inreview/film/2024/05/20/french-connection-film-takes-director-from-ki-to-cannes/ |access-date=13 October 2024}}

In 2024, SA filmmaker Sophie Hyde took over from former patrons Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, who had occupied the role for around ten years.{{cite web |title=Festival Info |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=28 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info |access-date=3 November 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007165354/https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info| archive-date= 7 Oct 2024|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=SA made films in the spotlight at Adelaide Film Festival 2024 |website=SAFC |date=18 September 2024 |url=https://www.safilm.com.au/latest-news/adelaide-film-festival-2024/ |access-date=3 November 2024}}

The 2024 event featured over 110 films from 46 countries, with 15 world premieres. The opening night gala film was The Correspondent, based on journalist Peter Greste's memoir The First Casualty, directed by Kriv Stenders and starring Richard Roxburgh, both of whom were in attendance. Kangaroo Island, a drama film directed by South Australian ex-pat Tim Piper (aka Timothy David) and set on Kangaroo Island, premiered on the closing night. Other films included The Order; The Room Next Door; Maria; The Brutalist; Pavements;{{cite web |last=Keen |first=Suzie |title=Green Room: Carclew's goals, music criticism and awards |website=InReview |date=10 October 2024 |url=https://inreview.com.au/inreview/2024/10/10/green-room-carclews-goals-music-criticism-and-awards/ |access-date=15 October 2024}} and Film Lab/New Voices animated comedy Lesbian Space Princess.

The 2024 jury comprised the CEO of Preciosa Media, Claudia Rodríguez Valencia; director Leena Khobragade; Closer Productions founder and co-director Matthew Bate; film journalist and critic Stephen A Russell; and Penny Smallacombe, who is head of scripted at Blackfella Films.{{cite web |last=Slatter |first=Sean |title=Timothy David's 'Kangaroo Island' to close Adelaide Film Festival as full line-up, jury announced |website=IF Magazine |date=17 September 2024 |url=https://if.com.au/timothy-david-pipers-kangaroo-island-to-close-adelaide-film-festival-as-full-line-up-jury-announced/ |access-date=14 October 2024}}

The films screened at the Palace Nova Eastend, Piccadilly Cinema in North Adelaide, Capri Theatre in Goodwood, Mercury Cinema, and Odeon Star Semaphore. Events were also held in the Samstag Museum of Art.{{cite web |title=Cinemas & Venues |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=22 May 1920 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/cinemas |access-date=3 November 2024}}

In 2024 filmmaker Sophie Hyde took on the role of patron, after well-known film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton retired from their ten years of service to the festival.{{cite web|date=13 December 2021|title=Patrons & Board|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-aff/patrons-board/|url-status=live|access-date=13 December 2021|website=Adelaide Film Festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625081347/http://adelaidefilmfestival.org:80/about-aff/patrons-board/ |archive-date=25 June 2020 }}

The board of the Adelaide Film Festival {{as of|lc=yes|2024}} consists of:{{cite web |title=People |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=28 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/about/people |access-date=3 November 2024}}

• Chair Anton Andreacchio, producer and entrepreneur, board member of the South Australian Film Corporation and Entrepreneurship Advisory Board
• Beck Cole, prominent Aboriginal screenwriter and director of drama and documentaries
• Hugo Weaving, actor{{cite web | title=The state of science fiction | website=InDaily | first=Penelope | last=Debelle | date=7 October 2022 | url=https://indaily.com.au/inreview/film/2022/10/07/the-state-of-science-fiction/ | access-date=9 October 2022}}
• Joshua Fanning, company director and entrepreneur; founder of CityMag, group creative director for KWP!
• Marianna Panopoulos, a certified practising accountant and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
• Rick Davies, engineer, lawyer and filmmaker
• Jessica Gallagher, University of Adelaide's inaugural Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement)
• Sheila Jayadev, producer (Stateless), co-founder of Emerald Productions

In 2007, the AFF featured in Variety Magazine's Top 50 unmissable film festivals around the world,{{cite news |author=Variety Staff |title=50 unmissable film festivals |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/news/50-unmissable-film-festivals-1117971644/ |newspaper=Variety Magazine |location=Los Angeles |date=7 September 2007 |access-date=14 February 2015 }}[http://www.artsprojects.com.au/tour/adelaide-film-festival-2007 Arts Project Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303122404/http://artsprojects.com.au/tour/adelaide-film-festival-2007 |date=3 March 2015 }}, (4 March 2007) Adelaide Film Festival 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2015. saying: "Of the planet’s 1,000-plus film fests, only a select few pack industry impact. A few dozen more, by virtue of vision, originality, striking setting, audience zest and/or their ability to mine a unique niche, also rank as must-attends".

The Adelaide Film Festival's 2020 event was awarded "Best Festival" at the 2021 South Australian Ruby Awards, an annual ceremony which recognises outstanding achievement in South Australia’s arts and culture sector.

The Don Dunstan Award was established in honour of Don Dunstan, Premier of South Australia through most of the 1970s, and is presented in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the Australian film industry by an individual.{{cite web | title=The Don Dunstan Award | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=9 September 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/awards/the-don-dunstan-award/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}

Past recipients have included:{{cite book |last1=Duthie |first1=Amanda |title=Kin: An Extraordinary Australian Filmmaking Family |date=2018 |publisher=Wakefield Press |location=Mile End, S.A. |isbn=9781743056028 |pages=x-ix}}

• 2003 - David Gulpilil, actor
• 2005 - Dennis O'Rourke, cinematographer and documentary filmmaker[http://www.cameraworklimited.com/read/19.html CameraWork] (21 January 2005) Dennis O'Rourke to Receive Don Dunstan Award at AFF 2005. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
• 2007 – Rolf de Heer, director{{cite news | last = George | first = Sandy | date = 19 January 2007 | title = Cowan to head Adelaide Film Festival jury | work = ScreenDaily | url = http://www.screendaily.com/cowan-to-head-adelaide-film-festival-jury/4030334.article | access-date = 9 February 2015 }}
• 2009 – Jan Chapman, producer[http://if.com.au/2009/02/09/article/CAIHCRTSFV.html IF.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209091923/http://if.com.au/2009/02/09/article/CAIHCRTSFV.html |date=9 February 2015 }} (10 February 2009) Jan Chapman to receive Don Dunstan Award. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
• 2011 – Judy Davis, actor[http://adelaidefilmfestival.org/don-dunstan-award-recipient-announced/ Adelaide Film Festival] (30 August 2013) Don Dunstan Award Recipient Announced. Retrieved 10 February 2015.[http://if.com.au/2011/02/25/article/Judy-Davis-accepts-2011-Don-Dunstan-Award/ERJGNHVNVR.html IF.com] (25 February 2011) Judy Davis accepts 2011 Don Dunstan Award
• 2013 – Scott Hicks, director{{cite news |last=Knight |first=David |date=29 August 2013 |title=Adelaide Film Festival Program |url=http://www.adelaidereview.com.au/arts/article/adelaide-film-festival-program |newspaper=The Adelaide Review |access-date=7 February 2015 }}{{cite news | last = McDonald | first = Patrick | date = 10 October 2013 | title = Shine director Scott Hicks receives Don Dunstan Award for film career at Adelaide Film Festival | work = The Advertiser | url = http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/shine-director-scott-hicks-receives-don-dunstan-award-for-film-career-at-adelaide-film-festival/story-fni6umbp-1226737070501?nk=042066812e3ceeec984df6c97c25ee33 | access-date = 9 February 2015 }}
• 2015 – Andrew Bovell, screenwriter and playwright{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
• 2017 – Margaret Pomeranz & David Stratton, film critics
• 2018 – Freda Glynn, pioneering Indigenous filmmaker, and her family members involved in the film industry: offspring Erica Glynn and Warwick Thornton, and grandchildren Tanith Glynn-Maloney and Dylan River{{cite web | last=Siemienowicz | first=Rochelle | title=Freda Glynn - from little things, big things grow | website=ScreenHub Australia | date=1 November 2018 | url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/news/freda-glynn-from-little-things-big-things-grow-256753-1425770/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129103335/https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/news/freda-glynn-from-little-things-big-things-grow-256753-1425770/ | archive-date=29 January 2022 | url-status=live | access-date=23 October 2022}}{{cite web | last=Maddox | first=Garry | title='Nana Freda' is honoured as a pioneer of Indigenous film and TV | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=14 October 2018 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/nana-freda-is-honoured-as-a-pioneer-of-indigenous-film-and-tv-20181012-p5098k.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122063643/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/nana-freda-is-honoured-as-a-pioneer-of-indigenous-film-and-tv-20181012-p5098k.html | archive-date=22 November 2021 | url-status=unfit | access-date=23 October 2022}}
• 2020 – Bruna Papandrea, producer{{cite news | last=Smith | first=Matthew | title=Big Little Lies producer Bruna Papandrea inspires a new generation of Adelaide's female filmmakers | newspaper=ABC News | date=14 October 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-15/big-little-lies-producer-inspires-adelaide-female-filmmakers/12767620 | access-date=16 October 2020}}
• 2022 – David Jowsey, producer, of Bunya Productions{{cite web | last=Simpkin | first=Greer | title=David Jowsey awarded the Don Dunstan Award | website=Bunya Productions | date=6 October 2022 | url=https://bunyaproductions.com.au/2022/10/david-jowsey-has-been-awarded-the-prestigious-don-dunstan-award-for-2022/ | access-date=22 October 2022}}{{cite web | title=2022 Don Dunstan Award Essay | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=18 September 2022 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/aff22/2022-don-dunstan-award-essay/ | access-date=22 October 2022}}{{cite web | last=Kelly | first=Vivienne | title=Adelaide Film Festival Releases 2022 Program | website=Variety Australia | date=13 September 2022 | url=https://au.variety.com/2022/film/news/adelaide-film-festival-program-5732/ | access-date=22 October 2022}}
• 2023 – Sally Riley, producer{{Cite web |title=AFF 2023 Don Dunstan Award |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/awards/don-dunstan-award/2023-don-dunstan-award |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |language=en}}
• 2024 – Don McAlpine, cinematographer{{cite web |title=AFF 2024 Don Dunstan Award |website=Adelaide Film Festival |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/awards/don-dunstan-award/2024-don-dunstan-award |access-date=20 October 2024}}

ADL Film Fest was the first Australian film festival to create a juried prize for best feature film.{{cite web | title=Feature Fiction Award | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=8 June 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/awards/feature-fiction-award/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}

Winners have included:

• 2006 Still Life (Jia Zhangke, China)
• 2009 Treeless Mountain (So Yong Kim USA/South Korea)
• 2011 Incendies (Denis Villeneuve, Canada/France)
• 2013 Jîn (Reha Erdem, Turkey)
• 2015 Neon Bull (Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil){{cite web | title=Adelaide Film Festival award winners announced | website=InDaily | date=23 October 2015 | url=https://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/film/2015/10/23/adelaide-film-festival-award-winners-announced/|first=Suzie|last=Keen | access-date=10 September 2020}}
• 2017 I Am Not a Witch (Rungano Nyoni, France/United Kingdom)
• 2019 The Seen and Unseen (Kamila Andini, Indonesia/Netherlands/Australia){{cite web|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-adl-film-fest/awards/|title=Awards|website=Adelaide Film Festival|access-date=25 May 2019}}
• 2020 Beginning (Déa Kulumbegashvili, Georgia){{cite web | last=Tiley | first=David | title=Adelaide Film Festival winners: 'art can become a weapon' | website=ArtsHub Australia | date=20 October 2020 | url=https://www.artshub.com.au/news-article/news/film/david-tiley/adelaide-film-festival-winners-art-can-become-a-weapon-261299 | access-date=24 October 2020}}
• 2022 Autobiography ({{ill|Makbul Mubarak|id}}, Indonesia)
• 2023 Empty Nets (Behrooz Karamizade, Iran){{cite web | last=Simmons | first=David | title=Winners named for two Adelaide Film Festival awards | website=InDaily | date=24 October 2023 | url=https://indaily.com.au/arts-culture/2023/10/24/winners-named-for-two-adelaide-film-festival-awards/ | access-date=1 November 2023}}
• 2024 In the Belly of a Tiger (Jatla Siddartha){{cite web |title=In the Belly of a Tiger |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=26 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2024/in-the-belly-of-a-tiger |access-date=3 November 2024}}{{cite web |title=AFF 2024 Award Winners |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=28 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/awards/2024-winners |access-date=4 November 2024}}

The Feature Documentary Award, also known as the Flinders University International Documentary Award, was first awarded in 2013, with the inaugural prize going to Blush of Fruit (Australia, Vietnam), directed by Jakeb Anhvu.{{cite web | title=Feature Documentary Award | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=8 June 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/awards/feature-documentary-award/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}{{cite web | title=Adelaide Film Festival| website=Screen Australia | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/festivals-and-markets/festival-profiles/adelaide-film-festival/11029 | access-date=10 September 2020}} Since then it has been won by:

• 2015 Speed Sisters (Amber Fares)
• 2017 Taste of Cement (Ziad Kalthoum)
• 2018 Island of the Hungry Ghosts (Gabrielle Brady)
• 2020 Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra (Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair; about the Bangarra Dance Theatre)
• 2022 The Hamlet Syndrome (set shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine)
• 2023 Hollywoodgate (Ibrahim Nash'at, Egypt)
• 2024 Simon and Marianne (Pier-Luc Latulippe and Martin Fournier){{cite web |title=Simon and Marianne |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=25 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2024/simon-and-marianne |access-date=4 November 2024}}

The Bettison & James Award, formerly Jim Bettison and Helen James Award, presented in collaboration with the Jim Bettison and Helen James Foundation, was established to recognise Australians who "have contributed exemplary and inspiring lifelong body of work of high achievement and benefit; and that the completion, extension, recording and/or dissemination of such work would have benefits for both the individual concerned and for the wider Australian community". The annual award of {{AUD|50,000}} is made to an individual who has contributed significantly in whatever their area of expertise is,{{cite web | title=The Bettison & James Award | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=8 June 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/awards/the-bettison-james-award/ | access-date=10 September 2020}} be it arts, humanities, social justice, science, the environment or something else.{{cite web | title=The Bettison and James Foundation | website=The Bettison and James Foundation | date=25 June 2015 | url=http://bettisonandjamesfoundation.com/ | access-date=10 September 2020}} The foundation was established by the estates of the Jim Bettison and his partner Helen James. Bettison created the Developed Image Photographic Gallery, co-founded communications company Codan and served as Deputy Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, his alma mater (an honorary position{{cite web | title=Former Officers & Honorary Degree Holders of the University - University Archives | website=University of Adelaide | date=27 August 2020 | url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/records/university-archives/online-resources/former-officers-honorary-degree-holders#deputy-chancellors | access-date=10 September 2020}}). Helen was an exhibiting studio artist, who served on a number of arts committees and was one of the founding members of the National Library of Australia’s Foundation Board.{{cite web | title=Founders | website=The Bettison & James Foundation | url=http://bettisonandjamesfoundation.com/founders/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}

• 2015: Greg Mackie {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}}, founder of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas
• 2016: Meryl Tankard {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}}, dancer, choreographer and director; and

::Tim Jarvis, adventurer and environmental scientist

• 2017: Robert McFarlane, social documentary and arts photographer
• 2018: Jackie Huggins {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM| FAHA}}, author, historian and Indigenous rights advocate, for researching the social impacts of Aboriginal soldiers going to fight in both World Wars.{{cite web | title=Adelaide Film Festival announces recipient of The Bettison and James Award | website=FilmInk | date=28 March 2019 | url=https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/adelaide-film-festival-announces-recipient-bettison-james-award/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}
• 2019: John Long, paleontologist, academic, and author of popular science non-fiction and fiction.
• 2020: David Vaux, scientist and expert on cell death,{{cite web | title=The Bettison & James Award | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=9 September 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/awards/the-bettison-james-award/ | access-date=24 October 2020}} 2019 co-recipient of the Florey Medal for Lifetime Achievement{{cite web | last=Ha | first=Tanya | title=When cells forget how to die – a hallmark of cancer | website=Scimex | date=22 June 2020 | url=https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/when-cells-forget-how-to-die-a-hallmark-of-cancer | access-date=24 October 2020}}
• 2021: Bob Brown, environmentalist, human rights campaigner and former political leader of the Australian Greens party.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-31|title=AFF Announces Bob Brown as 2021 Bettison & James Recipient|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/aff-announces-bob-brown-as-2021-bettison-james-recipient/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=Adelaide Film Festival|language=en-AU}}
• 2022: Pat Rix, artistic director{{cite web | last=Kelly | first=Vivienne | title=Adelaide Film Festival Releases 2022 Program | website=Variety Australia | date=13 September 2022 | url=https://au.variety.com/2022/film/news/adelaide-film-festival-program-5732/ | access-date=22 October 2022}}
• 2023: Uncle Major ‘Moogy’ Sumner AM, Ngarrindjeri cultural ambassador and performer {{Cite web |title=AFF 2023 Bettison & James Award |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/awards/bettison-and-james-award/2023-bettison-and-james-award |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |language=en}}
• 2024: Angela Valamanesh, independent visual artist{{cite web |last=Siemienowicz |first=Rochelle |title=Adelaide Film Festival 2024: full program |website=ScreenHub Australia |date=17 September 2024 |url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/news/adelaide-film-festival-full-2024-program-2652154/ |access-date=4 October 2024}}{{cite web |title=The Bettison & James Award |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=25 September 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/awards/bettison-and-james-award |access-date=4 October 2024}}

The Change Award was established in 2020. Worth {{AUD|5000}} and sponsored by Zambrero, it is awarded "for positive social or environmental impact and cinema expressing new directions for humanity", initially selected by audience vote, and in later years by a jury.

• 2020: Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra (Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair; about the Bangarra Dance Theatre) {{Cite web |date=2020-12-02 |title=FIRESTARTER Wins Adelaide Film Festival inaugural Change Award - Adelaide Film Festival |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/firestarter-wins-adelaide-film-festival-inaugural-change-award/,%20https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/firestarter-wins-adelaide-film-festival-inaugural-change-award/ |access-date=2023-04-12 |language=en-AU}}
• 2022: Luku Ngarra, directed by Sinem Saban and produced by Djiniyini Gondarra {{post-nominals|country=AUS| OAM}} and Saban, about the history and culture of Arnhem Land
• 2023: Black Cockatoo Crisis
• 2024: Union (Stephen Maing and Brett Story){{cite web |title=Union |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=24 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2024/union |access-date=4 November 2024}}

In 2024, the jury short film prize was sponsored by Flinders University.{{cite web |title=Awards & Voting |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=28 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/awards |access-date=4 November 2024}}

• 2024: Finding Jia (Alice Yang){{cite web |title=Finding Jia |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=30 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2024/finding-jia |access-date=4 November 2024}}

• 2022: Ribspreader (Dick Dale){{cite web |title=AFF 2022 announces Audience Award winners, and wraps up record-breaking 12 days |website=Adelaide Film Festival |date=28 October 2024 |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/news/aff-2022-announces-audience-award-winners-and-wraps-up-record-breaking-12-days |access-date=4 November 2024}}
• 2023: Poor Things
• 2024:

• 2022: The Last Daughter (Nathaniel Schmidt and Brenda Matthews)
• 2023: Bromley: Light After Dark
• 2024:

Established in 2022 as the Flinders University Short Film Prize, this award is determined by audience vote.

• 2022: Are You Really the Universe, directed by Tamara Hardman and starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey
• 2023: Blame the Rabbit, and The Unrequited Life of Farrah Bruce{{cite web |title=AFF 2023 Award Winners |website=Adelaide Film Festival |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/info/awards/2023-winners |access-date=4 November 2024}}
• 2024:

The Adelaide Film Festival teamed up with the Australian Writers' Guild to present the INSITE Award at the 2013 Festival. The Award celebrates and acknowledges outstanding work produced by AWG screenwriters and provides an important development opportunity for both writers and the industry. The winner gets to meet industry directors and producers, with a view to moving the project onto the screen.{{cite news | date = 24 June 2013 | title = Adelaide Film Festival to Celebrate Writers with INSITE Award | work = IF.com | url = http://if.com.au/2013/06/24/article/VUVFDLHJGA.html | access-date = 14 February 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150214034913/http://if.com.au/2013/06/24/article/VUVFDLHJGA.html | archive-date = 14 February 2015 | url-status = dead }}

It has not been awarded since 2017 and is not mentioned on the 2020 list of awards. Past winners have included:

• 2003 Cut Snake, by Blake Ayshford,{{cite web | title=Australian Writers' Guild and Adelaide Film Festival launch INSITE Award | website=Australian Writers' Guild | url=https://awg.com.au/posts/australian-writers-guild-and-adelaide-film-festival-launch-insite-award|date=6 April 2017 | access-date=10 September 2020}} was filmed by director Tony Ayres.
• 2005 Moving South, by Cath Moore.
• 2007 Salt, by Priscilla Cameron and Heather Phillips,[http://if.com.au/2008/10/22/article/CLGGPSRKNB.html IF.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214093919/http://if.com.au/2008/10/22/article/CLGGPSRKNB.html |date=14 February 2015 }} (22 October 2008) AWG issues final call for screenplays. Retrieved 14 February 2015. was directed by Michael Angus in 2009. The film played at the Adelaide Film Festival that same year.
• 2009 Writing Rain, written by Ben Chessell.[http://if.com.au/2009/02/13/article/YMGYVUJNGK.html IF.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214093709/http://if.com.au/2009/02/13/article/YMGYVUJNGK.html |date=14 February 2015 }} (13 February 2009) AWG announces INSITE winner. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
• 2011 The Unlikeliest Hero, by Barbara Connell,{{cite web | title='Opportunity at just the right moment': Adelaide Film Festival and AWG announce 2017 winner of prestigious INSITE Award | website=Australian Writers' Guild | url=https://awg.com.au/posts/opportunity-at-just-the-right-moment-adelaide-film-festival-and-awg-announce-2017-winner-of-prestigious-insite-award |date=9 October 2017| access-date=10 September 2020}} was planned to be filmed by New Zealand director James Cunningham in an official Australia/New Zealand co-production, with completion of the film timed to coincide with the 100-year commemorations of Anzac Day.{{cite news | date = 22 July 2013 | title = 2013 INSITE Award Entries Due July 26 | work = IF.com | url = http://if.com.au/2013/07/22/article/PUGZFPGSTL.html | access-date = 14 February 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150214034844/http://if.com.au/2013/07/22/article/PUGZFPGSTL.html | archive-date = 14 February 2015 | url-status = dead }}[http://www.taylormedia.com.au/about/team/member/Barbara-Connell Taylor Media] Barbara Connell. Retrieved 14 February 2015.[http://if.com.au/2011/01/25/article/Insite-winner-is-The-Unlikeliest-Hero/VVQZZYFZUA.html IF.com] (26 January 2011) Insite winner is "The Unlikeliest Hero". Retrieved 14 February 2015. (However, {{as of|lc=yes|2020|9}} it was last reported as being pitched as an animated film at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2015.{{cite web | title=James Cunningham Takes Reins On a Donkey Who Yearns To Be Horse Story | website=Variety | date=18 June 2015 | url=https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/annecy-james-cunningham-1201522912/ | access-date=10 September 2020}})
• 2013 Tigress, written by Jane Hampson.{{cite news | date = 22 October 2013 | title = RMIT student wins top screenwriting award | work = Medianet | url = http://medianet.com.au/releases/release-details?id=786881 | access-date = 14 February 2015 }}
• 2015 Martingale, written by Harry Aletras.{{cite web | title=Insite Award Winner Announced | website=Australian Writers' Guild | date=19 Oct 2015 | url=https://awg.com.au/posts/insite-award-winner-announced | access-date=10 September 2020}}
• 2017 Petrova, written by Bec Peniston-Bird.{{cite web | title='Opportunity at just the right moment': Adelaide Film Festival and AWG announce 2017 winner of prestigious INSITE Award | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=8 October 2017 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/opportunity-at-just-the-right-moment-adelaide-film-festival-and-awg-announce-2017-winner-of-prestigious-insite-award/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}

In 2017, ADL Film Fest introduced the AFTRS ADL Film Fest International VR Award, the first competition of its kind in Australia, in collaboration with the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Nothing Happens, by Michelle and Uri Kranot, won the inaugural award, while The Other Dakar by Selly Raby, based on Senegalese mythology, received a Special Mention.{{cite web | title=Inaugural AFTRS International VR Award Winner & Adl Film Fest VR Program Packages Announced | website=FilmInk | date=3 October 2017 | url=https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/inaugural-aftrs-international-vr-award-winner-adl-film-fest-vr-program-packages-announced/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}

In 2018, The Unknown Patient, by Australian director Michael Beets won the award.{{cite web | title=Virtual Reality Award | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=8 June 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/awards/virtual-reality-award/ | access-date=10 September 2020}}

In partnership with Screen Australia, KOJO and the National Film and Sound Archive, this initiative, the first of its kind, was created in 2015 to support an "innovative, observational and/or social justice documentary" with a funding package of up to {{AUD|738,000}}. The award provided funding for an established Indigenous film-maker to make a feature-length documentary, providing funding for the director and a producer.{{cite web | title=Special documentary initiatives feature documentary Initiative| website=Screen Australia | date=26 June 2015 | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-support/indigenous/production/special-documentary-initiatives/feature-documentary-initiative | access-date=10 September 2020}}

Eualeyai/Kamillaroi writer and academic Larissa Behrendt, along with Michaela Perske as writer and producer,{{cite web | title=Michaela Perske | website=Ronin Films | url=https://www.roninfilms.com.au/person/16487/michaela-perske.html | access-date=11 September 2020}} were awarded the funding in 2016 to work on their feature documentary project, After the Apology.{{cite web | title=Female Producer and Director Team Receive $738,000 to Make Landmark Documentary About Child Removal | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=19 August 2016 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/female-producer-and-director-team-receive-738000-to-make-landmark-documentary-about-child-removal-2/ | access-date=11 September 2020}}{{cite web | title=Female producer and director team receive funding to make landmark documentary about child removal | website=Screen Australia | date=19 August 2016 | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2016/in-160819-after-the-apology | access-date=11 September 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214047/https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2016/in-160819-after-the-apology| archive-date=7 Feb 2023}}

On 9 October 2017, AFF held the world première of the resulting film,{{cite web | title=World Premiere of After the Apology | website=Better Care Network | date=15 October 2017 | url=https://bettercarenetwork.org/news-updates/events/world-premiere-of-after-the-apology | access-date=26 June 2024}} and it was sold out at the Winda Film Festival in Sydney in November of that year. The film focuses on a group of grandmothers (Grandmothers Against Removals) taking on the system over the increase in Indigenous child removal in the years following Kevin Rudd's Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples, in which he offered an apology on behalf of the Australian Government to the Stolen Generations resulting from historic child removal policies in Australia.{{cite web | title=Director Larissa Behrendt - After the Apology- a landmark documentary about child removal| website=Screen NSW | url=https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/director-larissa-behrendt-after-the-apology-a-landmark-documentary-about-child-removal | access-date=11 September 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730030857/https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/director-larissa-behrendt-after-the-apology-a-landmark-documentary-about-child-removal| archive-date= 30 July 2023}} It won Best Direction of a Documentary Feature Film from the Australian Directors Guild in 2018, and was nominated in three categories in the 2018 AACTA Awards: Best Direction in Nonfiction Television (Larissa Behrendt); Best Documentary or Factual Program (Michaela Perske); and Best Original Music Score in A Documentary (Caitlin Yeo).{{cite web | title=After The Apology | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=5 July 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/investment-fund-slate/2017/after-the-apology/ | access-date=11 September 2020}}{{cite web | title=After the Apology (2017) | website=Screen Australia | url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/after-the-apology-2017/34665/ | access-date=11 September 2020}}

Jury members for the International Feature Film Prize have included Afghani actor Leena Alam and Portuguese filmmaker João Pedro Rodrigues (2017); Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir and Adelaide filmmaker Sophie Hyde (2015); actor/filmmaker Wayne Blair and writer Lawrence Weschler ( 2013); Hossein Valamanesh (2011); J. M. Coetzee (2007 & 2009), Naomi Kawase and David Stratton (2009); Margaret Pomeranz and Ana Kokkinos (2007).{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

Jury members for the Flinders University Documentary Prize have included Eva Orner (2017); Beck Cole (2015) and Michael Loebenstein (2015).{{Cite web |last=newsdesk |date=2013-08-06 |title=Flinders sponsors new doco award |url=https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2013/08/06/flinders-sponsors-new-doco-award/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=News |language=en-AU}}

Amanda Duthie, AFF artistic director and virtual reality champion, sat on the jury for the inaugural AFTRS International VR Award in 2017.

• 2020: Andrew Bovell, Khoa Do, Zak Hepburn, Rebecca Summerton (of Closer Productions), and Natasha Wanganeen
• 2022: Ali Gumillya Baker, Luke Buckmaster, Jim Kolmar, Lisa Scott, and Tusi Tamasese
• 2023: Kitty Green, Alexander Matius, Sally Riley, David Rooney, and Goran Stolevski{{cite web |title=Adelaide Film Festival Announces 2023 Program |website=Adelaide Film Festival |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/news/adelaide-film-festival-announces-2023-program |access-date=14 October 2024}}
• 2024: Claudia Rodríguez Valencia, Leena Khobragade; Matthew Bate, Stephen A Russell, and Penny Smallacombe of Blackfella Films.{{cite web |title=AFF Juries |website=Adelaide Film Festival |url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/juries |access-date=14 October 2024}}

Adelaide Film Festival Youth (or AFF Youth) is a section of the AFF dedicated to young filmmakers. It hosts the Statewide Schools Filmmakers Competition, which is a competition open to South Australian students to submit their short films into.{{Cite web |title=Statewide Schools Filmmaking Competition – Adelaide Film Festival Youth |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/aff-youth/statewide-school-filmmaking-competition/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |language=en-AU}}

• 2023 - Selma directed by Harrison J Thomas / Prince Alfred College and The Tree Of Wellness / Prospect North Primary School{{Cite web |last=Dubrowsky-Ryan |first=Larissa |date=2023-10-27 |title=AFF Youth Gala & Awards |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/aff-2023-youth-gala-awards/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |language=en-AU}}

• 2023 - Unmasked directed by Aurora Chan

• 2023 - GEIGER directed by Eddie Gerard, Hamish Headland, Sam Gniel / Prince Alfred College

• 2023 - Golden Boy – The Untold Story of the Oscars directed by Matthew Page & Joshua Hynes / Charles Campbell College

In 2021, the Film Lab: New Voices initiative was launched by the South Australian Film Corporation and the AFF, in collaboration with Mercury CX. This program supports emerging filmmakers, with three teams selected for mentoring over an 11-month development period and one team then selected for funding to complete a low-budget feature film which is premiered at the next AFF.{{cite web | title=SAFC announces teams for inaugural Film Lab: New Voices |first= Sean |last=Slatter| website=IF Magazine | date=12 March 2021 | url=https://if.com.au/safc-announces-teams-for-inaugural-film-lab-new-voices/ | access-date=3 March 2022}}{{cite web | last=George | first=Sandy | title=Sci-fi 'Monolith' wins first greenlight from Australian film lab | website=Screen | date=22 February 2022 | url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/sci-fi-monolith-wins-first-greenlight-from-australian-film-lab/5167909.article | access-date=3 March 2022}}{{cite web | title=Final feature greenlit for Film Lab round one | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=21 February 2022 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/final-feature-greenlit-for-film-lab-round-one/ | access-date=4 March 2022}}

The low budget sci-fi thriller Monolith was announced as being the first project funded by the initiative.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-21 |title=Final feature greenlit for Film Lab round one - Adelaide Film Festival |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/final-feature-greenlit-for-film-lab-round-one/,%20https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/final-feature-greenlit-for-film-lab-round-one/ |access-date=2023-04-12 |language=en-AU}} The winning team, comprising director Matt Vesely, producer Bettina Hamilton and writer Lucy Campbell, were given six months to develop, shoot and edit their film, which premiered at the 2022 Festival to much acclaim. Monolith, which features Australian actress Lily Sullivan, has since gone to screen at pop culture festival SXSW and will receive a general cinema release in mid-2023.{{cite web |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/xyz-films-blue-finch-board-australian-sci-fi-monolith-ahead-of-sxsw/5178025.article |title=XYZ Films, Blue Finch board Australian sci-fi 'Monolith' ahead of SXSW |first=Michael |last=Rosser |date=11 January 2023 |website=Screen Daily |access-date=2023-04-12}}

The second project to be funded by the initiative was animated comedy Lesbian Space Princess, by writers and directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese and producer Tom Phillips.{{cite web |last=Kornits |first=Dov |title=Film Lab: New Voices greenlights second feature production animation comedy Lesbian Space Princess |website=FilmInk |date=16 May 2023 |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/film-lab-new-voices-greenlights-second-feature-production-animation-comedy-lesbian-space-princess/ |access-date=14 October 2024}} The film premieres at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.{{cite web |title=Film Lab: New Voices opens third round |website=SAFC |date=23 October 2023 |url=https://www.safilm.com.au/latest-news/film-lab-new-voices-opens-third-round/ |access-date=14 October 2024}}

{{main|2013 Adelaide Film Festival}}

The 6th Adelaide Film Festival took place from 10 to 20 October 2013. This was Amanda Duthie's first year as Festival Director (after eight years at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and eight years at the Special Broadcasting Service during the 1990s), having taken over from Katrina Sedgwick. Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton served as the festival's patrons.

Scott Hicks received the 2013 Don Dunstan Award for his contribution to the Australian film industry.

The poster in 2013 depicted Screen Worship, which celebrates work for all screens—cinema, television, phone and computer.

{{main|2015 Adelaide Film Festival}}

The 7th Adelaide Film Festival was held from 15 to 25 October 2015. Amanda Duthie was again the Festival Director. On the opening night of the festival, director and screenwriter Andrew Bovell received the 2015 Don Dunstan Award for his contribution to the Australian film industry.

The festival opened with Scott Hicks's documentary film Highly Strung, and closed with Paolo Sorrentino's drama film Youth.

More than 180 feature films were screened at the festival, 40 of which were Australian films, 24 South Australian films and total of 51 countries were represented at the Festival.

As part of the 2015 Adelaide Film Festival, a public art installation was presented, incorporating a Laneway Cinema in Cinema Place, showing moving image artworks, and a 'Reactive Wall', where six artists created 2D visual artworks live in response to content within the festival.

Having previously been held biennially, the highlight of "AFF Goes Rogue" in October 2016 was a 4-day "mini-festival" in the in-between year. The first of the works commissioned by the Adelaide Film Festival Fund in that month was the Australian premiere season of Lynette Wallworth's Collisions{{cite web | title=Collisions | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=18 November 2016 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/investment-fund-slate/2016/collisions/ | access-date=10 September 2020}} (5–30 October). Then there was a free talk by Greg Mackie at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas on 23 October, and the events culminated in a 4-day mini-festival (27–30 October) featuring world premiere screenings of two films – Australia's first Muslim rom-com Ali's Wedding, based on the life of actor, writer and comedian Osamah Sami, and a special "work in progress" screening of David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema, directed by Sally Aitken{{cite web|website=Adelaide Film Festival|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/titles/105933/?festivalid=2|title=David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema|date = 2 October 2018|access-date=22 May 2019}} (later released as David Stratton: A Cinematic Life{{cite web | last=Buckmaster | first=Luke | title=David Stratton: A Cinematic Life review – a poignant portrait of a beloved cinephile | website=The Guardian | date=6 February 2017 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/07/david-stratton-a-cinematic-life-review-a-poignant-portrait-of-a-beloved-cinephile | access-date=26 June 2024}}{{cite web | last=Aldam | first=Rob | title=David Stratton: A Cinematic Life | website=Rotten Tomatoes | date=3 November 2018 | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/david_stratton_a_cinematic_life | access-date=26 June 2024}}{{cite web | title=David Stratton: A Cinematic Life | website=Transmission Films | url=https://www.transmissionfilms.com.au/films/david-stratton-a-cinematic-life | access-date=26 June 2024}}). Other films shown were Gimme Danger, a documentary film about the Stooges, and a retrospective screening of Lucky Miles (2007).{{cite web|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/archives?festivalid=2|title=Archives: 2016 AFF Goes Rogue|website=Adelaide Film Festival|access-date=22 May 2019}}

At the 2017 festival, the theme "Vive le Punk" celebrated the punk movement's 40th anniversary. It featured A Fantastic Woman, Call Me By Your Name, a set by Adelaide punk band Exploding White Mice and Ai Weiwei's documentary about migration, Human Flow.{{cite web|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/archives?festivalid=3|title=2017 Film Festival|access-date=25 May 2019}}

In April 2017, the Premier Jay Weatherill announced that a full festival, including new funding of A$1m for the ADL Film Fest Fund, would run again in October 2018.{{cite web|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/2017/04/adl-film-fest-announces-2018-festival-and-1m-fund-opens/|title=ADL Film Fest announces 2018 Festival and $1m fund opens|website=Adelaide Film Festival|date=6 April 2017|access-date=25 May 2019}}

Hotel Mumbai, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, rock documentary Bad Reputation (about Joan Jett) and The Nightingale (directed by The Babadook director Jennifer Kent) were some of the films shown.{{cite news|publisher=InDaily|url=https://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/festivals/2018/09/12/adelaide-film-festival-unveils-full-2018-line-up/|title=Adelaide Film Festival unveils full 2018 line-up|first=Suzie|last=Keen|date=12 September 2018|access-date=25 May 2019}}

In April 2019, a weekend "pop-up" event was held, to showcase Wayne Blair's romcom, Top End Wedding, and Adelaide filmmaker Sophie Hyde's Australian/Irish co-production Animals.{{cite web|url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/pop-up/|website=Adelaide Film Festival|title=Pop Up Event|date=25 February 2019 |access-date=25 May 2019}}

In 2020 the Adelaide Film Festival was scheduled to run from 14 to 25 October, one of the few events of its type during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, but due to the success of the festival, an extended run of selected films was scheduled as part of the Best of the Fest programme, re-showing ten of the programmed films from 26 to 30 October.{{cite web | title=Best Of The Fest Announced | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=23 October 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/best-of-the-fest-announced/ | access-date=24 October 2020}}

To open the festival, the locally filmed sci-fi thriller 2067 played in seven cinemas simultaneously, with extra screenings added due to demand.{{cite web | title=2067 – AFF 2020 Opening Night Gala & party | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=14 October 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/event/2067-7/ | access-date=16 October 2020}} One of the headlining films was I Am Woman, starring Adelaide actor Tilda Cobham-Hervey, who returned from Los Angeles in September. Other films included the documentary The Painter and the Thief, and High Ground, and the films include 22 world premieres, 27 Australian premieres and a total of 54 feature films from many countries.{{cite news | title=Adelaide Film Festival to defy COVID-19's effect on the arts, welcoming audiences back to cinemas |first=Matthew|last=Smith| newspaper=ABC News | date=9 September 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-09/adelaide-film-festival-to-defy-coronavirus-effect-on-the-arts/12645582 | access-date=10 September 2020}}

The competition jury comprised playwright and screenwriter Andrew Bovell, actor Natasha Wanganeen, filmmaker Khoa Do, producer Rebecca Summerton of Closer Productions, and film critic Zak Hepburn.{{cite web | title=Natasha Wanganeen looks for strong, powerful roles|first=Don|last=Groves | website=IF Magazine | date=21 September 2020 | url=https://www.if.com.au/natasha-wanganeen-looks-for-strong-powerful-roles/ | access-date=9 October 2020}}{{cite web | title=Adelaide Film Festival win for Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin's 'Firestarter' | website=IF Magazine | date=20 October 2020 | url=https://if.com.au/adelaide-film-festival-win-for-wayne-blair-and-nel-minchins-firestarter/ | access-date=15 August 2024}}

The earliest screening at the festival took place on 22 August, with several early showings of I Am Woman;{{cite web | title=I Am Woman Australian Premiere & AFF Membership | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=29 July 2020 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/i-am-woman-australian-premiere/ | access-date=24 October 2020}} the final event, a documentary about Port Adelaide Football Club called This is Port Adelaide, premiered at Odeon Star Semaphore from 5–7 February 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/845988/aff-feature-film-this-is-port-adelaide-to-premiere-first-weekend-in-february|title=AFF feature film THIS IS PORT ADELAIDE to premiere first weekend in February|date=24 December 2020 }}

The 2022 edition of the festival is held from 19 to 30 October. Films selected for screening include Todd Field's TÁR (starring Cate Blanchett, who appeared in a Q&A session after its first showing{{cite web | last=Kelly | first=Vivienne | title=Cate Blanchett to Attend 'Tár' Screening in Adelaide | website=Variety Australia | date=18 October 2022 | url=https://au.variety.com/2022/film/news/cate-blanchett-tar-adelaide-6540/ | access-date=29 October 2022}}); My Policeman, with Harry Styles; South Australian horror thriller Carnifex, with Alexandra Park; Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness; Stolen Generations story The Last Daughter; and Aftersun, a debut from Scottish director Charlotte Wells.{{cite web | title=AFF announces the first 5 films for 2022 | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=30 August 2022 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/aff-announces-the-first-5-films-for-2022/ | access-date=11 September 2022}} RackaRacka's debut, Talk to Me closed the festival. The Survival of Kindness by Rolf De Heer had red-carpet parties in the city. The new South Australian film Monolith had its world premiere at the festival{{cite web | last=Bolton | first=Cameron | title=Monolith: High Concept Sci-Fi Thriller Enters Production | website=MovieWeb | date=25 May 2022 | url=https://movieweb.com/high-concept-sci-fi-monolith-s/ | access-date=11 September 2022}} on 27 October 2022.{{cite web | title=Monolith: World Premiere Gala | website=Adelaide Film Festival | date=7 July 2022 | url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/event/monolith-premiere-gala/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716041618/https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/event/monolith-premiere-gala/ | archive-date=16 July 2022 | url-status=live | access-date=11 September 2022}} It was announced after the opening weekend that several films would get a second outing in the week following the festival, including TÁR, Monolith, Talk to Me, The Last Daughter, and Triangle of Sadness.{{cite web | last=Goodridge | first=John | title=The first weekend of the Adelaide Film Festival was action packed | website=The AU Review | date=24 October 2022 | url=https://www.theaureview.com/watch/the-first-weekend-of-the-adelaide-film-festival-was-action-packed/ | access-date=29 October 2022}}{{cite web | last=Keen | first=Suzie | title=Green Room: Fairytales, films and an arty party | website=InDaily | date=27 October 2022 | url=https://indaily.com.au/inreview/2022/10/27/green-room-fairytales-films-and-an-arty-party/ | access-date=29 October 2022}}

The 2023 festival ran from 18 to 29 October at five cinemas across Adelaide, with Palace Nova Eastend the main venue. Gala events screened The Royal Hotel, directed and co-written by Kitty Green and filmed in South Australia; true crime documentary Speedway, directed by Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien; and the closing gala featured director Scott Hicks' symphonic concert documentary My Name's Ben Folds - I Play Piano, about musician Ben Folds.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-26 |title=New Australian films to see at Adelaide Film Festival| website= ScreenHub Australia |url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/features/new-australian-films-we-want-to-see-at-adelaide-film-festival-2625264/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |language=en-AU}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/}}
• {{official website|https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/festivals-and-markets/festival-profiles/adelaide-film-festival/11029|AFF at Screen Australia}}

{{Adelaide Festivals}}

{{Adelaide Film Festival}}

Category:2002 establishments in Australia

Category:Film festivals established in 2002

Category:October

Category:Australian film awards

Category:Annual events in Australia

Category:Film festivals in Adelaide