Causeway Films co-founders Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings will receive the festival’s Groundbreaker Award when the event returns in September.

Nicole Kidman will receive the Trailblazer Award at the 2026 Australian Women’s Film Festival, recognizing her work as an actor, producer and advocate for female-led storytelling.

The festival will return Sept. 22, with Territory actress Kylah Day serving as host. Founded in 2020, the event showcases work by women in front of and behind the camera, with short films competing across drama, comedy, animation and documentary categories.

Kidman’s honor will recognize a career spanning Australian and international cinema as well as her work through Blossom Films, the production company she founded with Per Saari.

Through the banner, Kidman has developed projects centered on complex female characters and collaborated with women writers, directors and producers. The company’s credits include Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Undoing, Expats and Australian drama The Last Anniversary.

The festival’s 2026 Groundbreaker Award will be presented to Causeway Films co-founders Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings for their contribution to Australian genre filmmaking.

Causeway has produced a run of internationally successful Australian features, including Jennifer Kent’s The Babadookand The Nightingale, Danny and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me and the directing duo’s follow-up, Bring Her Back.

“Celebrating women like Nicole Kidman, Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings reminds us of why AWFF exists: to recognise those who have forged new paths, challenged expectations and created opportunities for the next generation of filmmakers,” festival co-founder Tahyna Tozzi said.

Bruna Papandrea, Screen NSW executive director Kylie Munnich and Moana actress Catherine Laga’aia will serve on this year’s judging panel.

The festival is also expanding its industry program with a new masterclass, “Inclusive by Design: Making Films That Pass Every Test,” to be held in Sydney on Sept. 24.

Moderated by Tozzi, the session will examine how inclusion can be incorporated throughout development, production and collaboration rather than treated solely as a matter of onscreen representation.

The panel will feature Australian Film Television and Radio School executive Nell Greenwood; actor, writer and comedian Nina Oyama; actor and filmmaker Lianne Mackessy; Bus Stop Films chief operating officer Dianna La Grassa; and Screen Australia director of First Nations strategy Rachel Perkins.

“AWFF was founded on the belief that women’s voices deserve to be seen, heard and celebrated,” festival co-founder Kelly Tomasich said. “As we continue to grow, our focus remains on creating meaningful opportunities for women on screen.”

The winner of the festival’s best film award will receive a production package including a Sony ILME-FX6 Cinema Line camera, A$10,000 in equipment rental from VA Hire, an additional A$10,000 rental package from Disney Lighting and A$5,000 in postproduction services from Spectrum Films.

Separate prizes will be presented for best drama, documentary, comedy and animation.