Yesterday Island | Sydney Film Festival 2026

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https://www.sff.org.au/program/event/yesterday-island/

Date Reviewed: 05/06/2026

YESTERDAY ISLAND:
Invite your enemies.

Yesterday Island is a quirky, dark Australian comedy shot in Tasmania on King Island.

Invited to a subantarctic island by an old friend — or perhaps more accurately, an old enemy — under the pretence of staying for “one day only”, Amos finds himself alone and stranded at the bottom of Australia. He quickly learns that today is just like yesterday, and tomorrow will be no different. Life is on repeat.

Through trial and error, and across several fascinating and humorous events, Amos discovers that in order to escape, he must manipulate his one-time friends into taking his place on the island.

The opening sequence, before the initial credits roll, reveals the premise on which the film is based. Once this is established, the opening credits appear — but that is not the only time you will see them. No spoilers.

The film stars Ivan Aristeguieta, an award-winning stand-up comedian, writer and actor. Originally from Venezuela, Ivan settled in Australia in 2014, where he has since become one of the country’s most popular stand-up comedians. YESTERDAY ISLAND is his debut feature film.

Amos, played by Ivan Aristeguieta, is a likeable character caught in a time loop. He has compassion, but his situation forces him to act in ways that contradict that emotion.

This is a dark and funny film which, for me, draws comparison with the 1993 film GROUNDHOG DAY, starring Bill Murray. That film was later adapted into a musical of the same name, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.

There is a strong similarity. If you have seen the original, it is difficult not to keep recalling how things develop and where the story may be heading. As with the Bill Murray film, we are offered no explanation as to why events occur as they do, but this is of little consequence to the overall impact and storyline.

That said, YESTERDAY ISLAND has a magic all of its own and succeeds in keeping you interested, on the edge of your seat and, most importantly, entertained.

Although the action never stops and the surprises keep coming, I felt the ending, while surprising in itself, left me wanting a more satisfying sense of closure. That may simply be a personal preference and does not detract from the film overall.

The film is featured in this year’s Sydney Film Festival and is definitely worth viewing.

YESTERDAY ISLAND premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival. The film also picked up a Special Mention for International Feature at the Cleveland International Film Festival in the US and, significantly, the Critics Award at the 44th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

In 2025, YESTERDAY ISLAND shared the Comedy Vanguard Audience Award with the American film CRYSTAL CROSS at the Austin Film Festival.

The film is written and directed by Sam Voutas, whose film KING OF PEKING had its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. It stars Ivan Aristeguieta, Florence Noble, Francis Greenslade and David Fane, and was produced by Melanie Ansley.

The film was released in 2025 and has a running time of 91 minutes.

Reviewed by Vincent Brincat