What do films about occult practices, delicious porridge, Mongolian herders and a very cranky shark have in common? They\u2019re all among the best Australian features released in 2025. To be eligible for this list, films must have had an Australian release outside the festival circuit in 2025, either theatrically or via streaming. All of the listed streaming or cinema information is correct at time of publication.<\/p>\n
10.<\/p>\n
Bring Her Back<\/p>\n
Where to watch: stream on Prime Video or rent\/buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and YouTube<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Many years of watching horror movies has given me a steely stomach \u2013 but some of the images in Bring Her Back really got to me; they\u2019re truly grotesque and I\u2019m not sure I can ever forgive directors Danny and Michael Philippou (whose previous film was the fiendishly great Talk To Me<\/a>). But Bring Her Back is certainly no rinky-dink midnight movie: the aesthetics are polished and the acting excellent \u2013 including one helluva performance from Sally Hawkins as Laura, a foster mother grieving the loss of her young daughter.<\/p>\n Laura takes into her care two siblings: the vision-impaired teenager Piper (Sora Wong) and her older brother Andy (Billy Barratt). Also in the house is Laura\u2019s other (very creepy) foster child Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). The initial feeling that things aren\u2019t quite right with Laura boils over into abject horror when occult practices take centre stage.<\/p>\n 9.<\/p>\n The Correspondent<\/p>\n Where to watch: available to rent\/buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and YouTube<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Richard Roxburgh specialises in projecting a slippery kind of charisma; a preacher in Prosper<\/a>, and a devilishly smooth lawyer in Rake. In Kriv Stenders\u2019 grittily immersive biodrama, the Rox delivers a very different performance as Latvian Australian journalist Peter Greste, giving him a pragmatic mindset and an approachable everyday aura. The Correspondent joins other fine Aussie films that capture journalists caught up overseas in very trying circumstances, a la The Year of Living Dangerously<\/a> and Balibo<\/a>.<\/p>\n It could be considered a \u201clegal drama with a difference,\u201d though \u201clegal\u201d might be giving the Egyptian authorities too much credit: Greste was pushed through a sham trial and sentenced to seven years in prison, ultimately spending 400 days there. I was initially unsure about the film\u2019s use of flashbacks, but the full arc of the narrative gives them real purpose and impact.<\/p>\n 8.<\/p>\n The Golden Spurtle<\/p>\n Where to watch: now in cinemas<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Constantine Costi\u2019s utterly charming documentary about the world\u2019s annual porridge-making championship in Scotland \u2013 taken very seriously by a colourful cast of oat-cooking competitors \u2013 goes straight to the pool room. It\u2019s not life-changing viewing but if you like the sound of the premise you\u2019ll probably love it. As I wrote in my review<\/a>: \u201cThis film is a pleasure to watch \u2013 with endearing salt-of-the-earth subjects, a lovely ebb and flow, and a tone that feels just right: neither overly serious nor tongue in cheek.\u201d<\/p>\n 7.<\/p>\n Fwends<\/p>\n Where to watch: still in some cinemas<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t take long for Sophie Somerville\u2019s dramedy about two twentysomething friends, Em (Emmanuelle Mattana) and Jessie (Melissa Gan), to work its low-key charm. Consisting of lots of talking and ambling through Melbourne\u2019s streets, their chit-chat segueing from frivolous banter to D&Ms, this is a great example of an invigoratingly good indie film offering something refreshingly different from the usual multiplex churn. The apparent effortlessness of the film\u2019s staging belies the talent and flair needed to sustain this kind of storytelling over a feature-length run time. Imagine a less polished, Melbourne-set equivalent of Richard Linklater\u2019s Before trilogy<\/a> and you\u2019re in the right ballpark.<\/p>\n 6.<\/p>\n Ellis Park<\/p>\n Where to watch: stream on DocPlay or rent\/buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and YouTube<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The first documentary from the great auteur Justin Kurzel is a richly cinematic portrait of Warren Ellis, the Bad Seeds and Dirty Three musician who co-founded the titular wildlife refuge in Sumatra, Indonesia, that rehabilitates injured animals then releases them back into the wild. There are shots of cute animals, but those au fait with Kurzel\u2019s oeuvre (which includes Snowtown<\/a>, True History of the Kelly Gang<\/a>, Nitram<\/a> and the TV series The Narrow Road to the Deep North<\/a>) will know not to expect cuddly sentiment.<\/p>\n