The 2025 Revelation Perth International Film Festival (2–13 July 2025) has announced its full program, with titles ranging from outrageous animation and genre-defining horror to poetic coming-of-age tales and restored cinematic landmarks.
With a lineup of more than 45 features and documentaries and more than 100 short films, this year’s Rev, say the organisers, ‘delves into diverse narratives, innovating storytelling and cinematic artistry, offering a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers and confirming Rev’s place as one of the most daring and diverse film festivals down under’.
‘The program features everything from sweaty punk realism and psychedelic cult journeys to iconic restorations to animations exploding with colour and power and some of the most acclaimed films direct from the international festival scene,’ said Festival Director Richard Sowada.
Feature films range from deeply intimate stories to genre-bending visual spectacles, and include the opening night film, science-fiction comedy U Are The Universe, which tells the story of Andriy Melnyk, a space trucker who becomes the last human in the universe after Earth’s unexpected explosion.
Among other standouts in this year’s lineup is Eddington, a contemporary Western black comedy from director Ari Aster that arrives fresh from Cannes. Set in New Mexico during the Covid pandemic, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone and Austin Butler.
Mr Burton, another highlight, is a British biographical drama delving into the formative years of Welsh actor Richard Burton, starring Harry Lawtey and Toby Jones.
And September Says, the directorial debut of Ariane Labed, which delves into the complex and unsettling bond between two sisters grappling with isolation and psychological tension.
Other must-see films at this year’s Rev include:
- Spermageddon, an animated comedy musical that follows two sperm, Simen and Cumilla, on their journey to fertilise an egg.
- The End, a post-apocalyptic musical drama directed by Joshua Oppenheimer and starring Tilda Swinton.
- The Last First Time, a coming-of-age film about 18-year-old from a small town in Mexico experiencing love and self-discovery during a trip to Guadalajara.
- Micro Budget, a sharp and irreverent comedy about a soon-to-be-father who moves himself and his nine-months pregnant wife from Iowa to Los Angeles to make an indie film he hopes to sell to a streaming platform.
- Skeleton Girls, an Aussie indie-punk film from Western Australian director Richard Eames.
Rev will mark the 40th anniversary of award-winning Fran, starring Noni Hazlehurst, and will return the 1988 feature film Shame starring Deborra-Lee Furnessback to the big screen, both titles originally filmed in Western Australia. The Festival will also celebrate Wim Wenders’ 80th birthday, offering rare opportunity to experience three of the German auteur’s most influential works on the big screen.
This year’s documentary program brims with diverse voices and includes:
- Abebe: Butterfly Song, a musical and cultural odyssey following Australian artist David Bridie as he uncovers the origins of a song that changed his life.
- Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story, which offers a vivid portrait of the legendary Irish writer.
- The Extraordinary Miss Flower, which brings a strikingly personal narrative to life through a fusion of archival love letters and contemporary performance, unveiling the secret romantic life of an otherwise forgotten woman, with narration by Nick Cave, Richard Ayoade and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
- Chain Reactions, which delves into the far-reaching cultural consequences of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
- Eno, a filmic experiment as unpredictable and inventive as its subject, Brian Eno.
- School of Hard Knocks, a WA-made film that tells the story of wrestler Mana The Polynesian Warrior’s career and life.
More than 100 short films (including nearly 40 by Australian filmmakers) will screen during the Festival, which will also run an Experimental showcase and Horror and Sci–Fi lineups in its program.
The popular International Family Animation Explosion will also return, with a vibrant collection of animated shorts from around the globe designed to delight audiences of all ages – all screening for free.
First Nations voices will take centre stage in the First Nations showcase, and Wimmin’s Work will present collection of audio, audio-visual and photographic stories capturing the historical and contemporary experiences of women living and working in WA.
‘As usual we’ve gone all the way in bringing the very best new and classic international cinema to WA audiences,’ said Sowada. ‘Its a global conversation told through the language of film.’
