European Film Promotion (EFP) kicks off the 2026 edition of its initiative EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN + IN FILM at the Sydney Film Festival (3–14 June), ahead of further stops in Busan and Rio de Janeiro later this year. Dedicated to spotlighting European films by women and genderqueer filmmakers, this year’s Sydney selection brings together six distinctive works by emerging and established directors, united by themes of identity, longing, family ties and resilience.
In The Kidnapping of Arabella (Italy), Carolina Cavalli portrays a disillusioned young woman who becomes convinced she has found her younger self in an eight-year-old girl named Arabella. Their unexpected bond sets in motion a tender and offbeat journey of self-discovery, as past wounds resurface and the possibility of healing begins to emerge.
Milagros Mumenthaler’s The Currents (Switzerland, Argentina) centres on Lina, a 34-year-old Argentine stylist and designer at the height of her career. After impulsively plunging into icy waters following an awards ceremony in Switzerland, she returns to Buenos Aires changed, as an almost imperceptible shift begins to unravel a past she believed she had left behind.
With Hold Onto Me (Cyprus, Greece, Denmark), Myrsini Aristidou crafts a moving coming-of-age story around 11-year-old Iris, who learns that her estranged father has returned to Cyprus for his own father’s funeral. Determined to get to know him, she tracks him down and gradually builds a fragile connection shaped by emotional resilience and the hope of reconciliation.
Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, Ivana Mladenović’s Sorella di Clausura (Romania, Italy, Serbia, Spain) follows Stela, who has nurtured an obsession with a Balkan musician since childhood and sees in him the promise of another life. Blending humour, melancholy and sharp social observation, the film becomes an unconventional portrait of desire, fantasy and survival.
In La belle année (Sweden, Norway), Angelica Ruffier unfolds a delicately woven documentary essay on memory, desire and self-discovery. Revisiting a teenage crush on a teacher, the film evolves into a subtle and emotionally resonant reflection on past longing and the traces it leaves in the present.
Teodora Ana Mihai’s Heysel 85 (Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany) revisits the tragedy surrounding the 1985 European Cup Final in Brussels through the intertwined perspectives of a journalist and the daughter of the city’s mayor. The film emerges as a powerful historical drama about responsibility, institutional failure and the human cost of political decision-making in moments of crisis.
The participating films are supported by EFP member organisations Cinecittà (Italy), the Deputy Ministry of Culture (Cyprus), Flanders Image (Belgium), Romanian Film Development, the Swedish Film Institute and SWISS FILMS.
Originally launched by EFP and the Sydney Film Festival in 2016, EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN + IN FILM has since evolved into an international platform designed to amplify the visibility of European women and genderqueer filmmakers beyond Europe. Through partnerships with the Sydney Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival and Festival do Rio, EFP activates the label via online and on-site initiatives that foster exchange, strengthen community and create tailored opportunities for filmmakers to connect with key international industry players worldwide.
