by FIlmInk Staff
The Adelaide Film Festival has announced the five projects selected for Adelaide Goes to Cannes, the Festival’s partnership with Cannes’ Marché du Film that showcases bold, independent Australian films at the world’s most influential film market due to take place 15-18 May 2026. The partnership is now in its third year.
The filmmakers and their projects selected to attend are Dan Jackson (director) with the feature documentary Death of a Shaman, Michael Wrenn (producer) with the feature documentary Polina, Dominic Allen (director) with the feature film Tiber, Mat Govoni (producer) with the feature film Wilderness and Zane Borg (director) with the feature film River.
Mat Kesting, AFF CEO & Creative Director, said: “This year’s lineup spans continents and themes – from geopolitical conflict and exploitation in Polina and Death of a Shaman, to intimate explorations of relationships and grief in Wilderness, River and Tiber. Each project is marked by ambition, craft and a distinct cinematic voice.
“Adelaide Goes to Cannes, alongside additional international festival ‘bridges’ programs established by AFF such as our partnership with JAFF in Indonesia, help connect Australian filmmakers to the global marketplace and build partnerships with international colleagues and distributors. Significant success has been achieved by films that engaged with these programs.”
Minister for the Arts Kyam Maher, said: “Congratulations to the five projects participating as part of the Adelaide Goes to Cannes program leading on from the success of the last two years of the activity. I’m thrilled to see Adelaide Film Festival continue to support Australian stories reach international audiences at the Marché du Film, Cannes Film Festival, the world’s largest film market.”
Dan Jackson is director of Death of a Shaman, where ancient wisdom meets modern revolution as a shaman’s family rise against IMF-backed oil forces, catalysing an Indigenous uprising that seeks to oust the Ecuadorian President.
Dan Jackson’s feature documentary debut In the Shadow of the Hill won best documentary at the Sydney Film Festival, a Director’s Guild award for best direction in a feature documentary and won two Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards from five nominations.
Polina, directed by Agnes Burrell, follows 10-year-old Ukrainian girl Polina, whose village near Kyiv is destroyed in 2022 and her family is forced to live beside the remains of their home. War becomes her everyday environment and the setting of her adolescence.
Polina producer Michael Wrenn has been in film for more than 30 years in exhibition, distribution, production, sales and acquisitions in both the UK, France and Australasia. In the past decade he has established himself as a producer and EP; with recent credits including Irish-Australian feature Chasing Millions, the female gaze comedy Audrey, and the music festival coming-of-age 6 Festivals.
Dominic Allen will present his feature film Tiber. After losing his job in Rome, art historian Marco returns to Tuscany and sets out with his young daughter Lucia toward the River Tiber. Travelling through an Italian summer shaped by art, history and memory, he is drawn toward a reckoning with the loss he has long tried to contain.
Dominic’s short film Two Men won the MIFF Emerging Australian Filmmaker Award and the IF Award for Rising Talent. His immersive work Carriberrie premiered at Cannes Next in 2018 and later had its Australian premiere at AFF 2018 before becoming a major exhibition at Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive.
The feature film Wilderness, directed by Martin McKenna, is about Allie, whose poor choices unshackle her from life as a doctor, a mother, and a wife. When she ventures into the Victorian high country with former school friend Kaz, the trip soon spirals into conflict, danger, and near disaster – forcing Allie to confront her life and discover the power of listening.
Wilderness producer Mat Govoni produced the Cairnes Brother’s Late Night With The Devil and was an Associate Producer on the TAP/Matchbox series The Survivors for Netflix.
Zane Borg will represent their film River. After her mother’s death, 16-year-old River struggles to navigate a teenage existence reshaped by grief. She finds solace in an unlikely friendship with Marcus, a troubled teen with wounds of his own. Together, they steal a car and drive to South Australia, in search of Marcus’ estranged mother.
Zane’s debut feature The Library Boys premiered at the Austin Film Festival in 2022, winning the Comedy Vanguard Award and earning Zane a spot on MovieMaker’s Screenwriters to Watch list.
Adelaide Goes to Cannes selects feature films and documentaries that are near completion or are works-in-progress. Collaborating with the Marché, AFF provides support to the selected projects and participants in a series of dedicated activities including a showcase presentation to the international marketplace in the Palais des Festivals.
Adelaide Goes to Cannes gives profile to Australian filmmakers alongside projects selected by six other international festivals invited by the Cannes Marche to participate that include Festival do Rio (Brazil), Tokyo International Film Festival (Japan), Tallinn Black Nights (Estonia), Africa International Film Festival (Nigeria), Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HK) and Ventana Sur (Uruguay).
About Adelaide Film Festival
Adelaide Film Festival is South Australia’s premier screen event and one of Australia’s leading film festivals. We celebrate courageous filmmaking and share local and international stories to help people see the world in a new light. Join us 14-25 October 2026.
