Brunswick Underground Film Festival 2026 runs 14–17 May at Balam Balam Place and Brunswick Picture House.
Brunswick Underground Film Festival is back for round two, and it’s brought a considerably bigger program along for the ride.
BUFF 2026 runs from 14 to 17 May across two Brunswick venues, expanding to four days, six screens and a lineup of 69 feature films and 36 shorts. Organised by cult cinema collective Static Vision, the festival drew more than 2,500 attendees to its debut outing in Brunswick West last year and has responded by doubling the size of its offering while simultaneously lowering ticket prices.
Single tickets have dropped from $17.50 to $15 general admission, with concession at $12.50 and $10 entry available for unwaged patrons. Festival passes remain frozen at $135 for access to more than 20 sessions, and a five-film pass is also available at $65.
Brunswick Underground Film Festival 2026
- When: 14–17 May
- Where: Balam Balam Place, 15 Phoenix St, Brunswick and Brunswick Picture House, 510–512 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
- Cost: $15 general / $12.50 concession / $10 unwaged / $135 full festival pass / $65 five-film pass
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The program spans new releases, retrospectives and anniversary screenings. Opening night features Ken Russell’s notorious 1971 provocation The Devils, uncut and uncensored, while closing night brings John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus in 4K, marking 20 years since the film’s original release. Feature premieres include Oscar Boyson’s Our Hero, Balthazar, Katarina Zhu’s cam-girl drama Bunnylovr (featuring Rachel Sennott) and Hailey Benton Gates’ Sundance grand jury prize-winning Atropia, starring Alia Shawkat. Annapurna Sriram’s SXSW award-winning F***toys has already sold out its session in a single day.
Anniversary screenings mark a century since Japanese silent film A Page of Madness first hit screens, with dark ambient artist Uboa performing a new live score for the occasion. Abel Ferrara’s Ms .45 and Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead both receive 45th anniversary screenings, while Brunswick Picture House hosts a complete retrospective of director Elaine May’s four features. The festival also presents the Australian premiere of Castration Movie Anthology iii, the latest instalment in underground cinema’s trans new wave, and the Victorian premiere of $3,000-budget action film 100% Pure Rage, fresh from a sold-out run at SXSW Sydney.
Free outdoor screenings headlined by Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer are a new addition for 2026, alongside a free industry symposium designed for emerging critics, filmmakers and exhibitors. The symposium spans topics including film club exhibition, transgressive cinema, independent distribution and festival programming. A choose-your-own-adventure triple feature night and a marathon of 12 sex and sexuality-themed films round out the more adventurous corners of the program. Both venues sit within a short walk of each other, and this year’s scheduling follows a no-clash rule between session blocks.
For more information, head here.
