At a time when cinema is competing with every possible form of digital distraction, Revelation Perth International Film Festival is making a bold case for the big screen as a place of risk, connection, conversation and discovery.
Returning this July, Revelation will once again transform Perth into a meeting point for adventurous screen culture, bringing together feature films, documentaries, shorts, experimental works, animation and moving image projects from Australia and around the world.
Across 12 days, the festival will present almost 200 international films, cementing its place as Western Australia’s largest — and currently only — international film festival.
But Revelation has never been interested in simply filling a program. For almost three decades, the festival has built its reputation around films and ideas that ask audiences to lean in. Its program favours independent cinema, international work, high-risk documentary, experimental storytelling and bold creative voices working at the edge of what screen culture can be.
The 2026 program is “classic Rev”: expansive, curious and unafraid, showcasing works like Hong Kong feature film “Birdboy,” Australian short film “Daddy’s Little Meatball”, American documentary “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie” and the opening night feature, “Dead Man’s Wire.”
Alongside its film screenings, Revelation has long embraced the broader possibilities of visual culture, from retrospective screenings and live scores to expanded cinema performances, VR, installation works, exhibitions, industry workshops, talks, presentations and academic conversations. It is as comfortable in a music venue as it is in a cinema, which is part of why its audience is so broad: arthouse lovers, young cinephiles, older film devotees, artists, musicians, industry workers, and people who simply want to be part of something less predictable.
The festival’s history reflects that restless curiosity. Previous guests have included Crispin Glover, Alice Krige, George Lazenby, Steve Bisley, Craig Baldwin, Cory McAbee, Amy Hobby, Terry McMahon, Amanda Duthie and many more.
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Its live soundtrack performances have included Goblin performing “Suspiria,” Stephen Severin performing “The Seashell and the Clergyman,” New Pollutants performing “Metropolis” and Lawrence English performing to Harry Smith’s “Early Abstractions.”
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Revelation has also brought music directly into its orbit, with special events featuring acts including Amyl and the Sniffers.
Revelation’s commitment to Western Australian screen culture is just as central to its identity. Since 2020, the festival has commissioned and produced more than 25 short documentaries and VR works, investing more than $350,000 into local independent screen production. It also continues to support new creative pathways through collaborations, production commissions and dedicated programs for WA filmmakers.
One of its key initiatives returns in 2026 with the Life in Pictures Filmmaking Competition. Open to filmmakers of all ages and skill levels across Western Australia, the competition invites short films of up to three minutes exploring positive ageing in the community or challenging ageism. Entries are currently open across three categories: 17 years and under, 18 to 59 years, and 60 years and over.
Supported by the Western Australian Department of Communities, Life in Pictures is designed to shift assumptions around age, creativity and community, encouraging filmmakers to use screen storytelling as a way to challenge stereotypes and start new conversations. Free filmmaking workshops will also run around Perth, giving participants practical tools to develop their ideas.
As an official AACTA Awards Qualifying Film Festival, Revelation offers audiences more than a chance to watch films. It is a chance to encounter breakthrough moments as they happen, to join the conversation early, and to support a festival that believes cinema still has the power to make a difference.
Entries for Life in Pictures close Friday, June 19.
Revelations International Film Festival 2026 will be held from July 8-19.
More information is available at revelationfilmfest.org.