Judy Blume’s ground-breaking novel about puberty—and so much more—gets a heartfelt and poignant pitch-perfect adaptation that captures the essence of growing up, self-discovery, and the quest for identity.
Festival Programme
Films — by Genre
- Action
- Animals
- Animation
- Artists
- Award-winners
- Based on Books
- Body and Mind
- Comedy
- Coming of Age
- Crime
- Education
- Environment
- Family Lives
- Fantasy
- Films about Films
- Finding Home
- Historical
- Horror
- Indigenous
- LGBTQIA+
- Love Stories
- Media and the Internet
- Music
- Māori/Pacific
- Photography
- Politics
- Religion
- Sci-Fi
- Stylistic
- Travel
- WTF?
- War Zones
- Writers and Theatre
Coming of Age
![How to Have Sex](/assets/resized/sm/upload/zc/my/n2/wx/HERO_HTHS_Still1-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=d217174967)
How to Have Sex
This stunning, neon-drenched debut from cinematographer-turned-director Molly Manning Walker about a trio of British teen girls on a wild booze-fuelled holiday wowed all comers at Cannes.
![I Like Movies](/assets/resized/sm/upload/o6/rx/z8/4a/I%20Like%20Movies_Still_HERO-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=d5c951bc96)
I Like Movies
Love-letters to cinema are a dime a dozen, but not many can lay claim to having the heart and humour of Chandler Levack’s nostalgic, charming debut.
![Of an Age](/assets/resized/sm/upload/cw/tn/1g/rl/OF%20AN%20AGE_Hattie%20Hook_Thom%20Green_Elias%20Anton_000401_Photo%20Credit-Ben%20King_HEROweb-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=007d5d9587)
Of an Age
Goran Stolevski’s tender sophomore film is equal parts coming-of-age and coming-out story, as much a commentary on the pressures of masculinity and heteronormativity as it is a witty, sentimental romance set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-twentieth-century Melbourne.
![Palm Trees and Power Lines](/assets/resized/sm/upload/su/75/1c/gf/HERO_STILL%201_PALM%20TREES%20AND%20POWER%20LINESweb-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=20bb457cba)
Palm Trees and Power Lines
This bold, semi-autobiographical debut from American director Jamie Dack is a tense coming-of-age drama that navigates the insidious and all too real threat of stranger danger.
![Sweet As](/assets/resized/sm/upload/yt/1x/v0/b4/SweetAs_selects_010_HERO-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=83279169f3)
Sweet As
Set in Australia’s remote Pilbara, Jub Clerc’s multi award-winning debut feature is a triumphant coming-of-age road movie that honours the power of country, community and art to transform lives.