A young man with dark hair inside a car and a woman with a sleek hairstyle in a red dress aiming a firearm.

Sample People + Q&A STROBE Film Festival

  • Cinema
  • Playhouse
  • Run time: 96 minutes, plus 20 minute intro Subject to change
  • Seating map

Australia | 2000 | English | Thriller/Crime | MA15+

This special screening includes an introduction with Writer/Director Clinton Smith, Co-writer Peter Buckmaster and Producer Barton Smith.

Set against the backdrop of a blistering summer weekend, Sample People delivers a chaotic, multi-stranded thrill ride through the underground pulse of millennial Sydney. A hyper-stylised kaleidoscope of youth culture explodes across forty-eight hours of neon, chaos and crime.

The film weaves together the interlocking lives of an ensemble of inner-city youth - hustlers, aspiring musicians, lovers, and small-time criminals, all careening toward an explosive collision. At the centre of the storm is Jess (Kylie Minogue), caught in a dangerous web of gun-toting eccentricities and nightclub culture, flanked by early, riveting performances from future international heavyweights Ben Mendelsohn and Joel Edgerton.

Driven by a high-octane Australian soundtrack and dripping in Y2K aesthetic, Sample People captures its characters under increasingly bizarre, vivid and hazardous circumstances. As the heat rises and the partying spirals out of control, their desperate paths cross in unexpected ways.

Recontextualised for the STROBE Film Festival 2026, this edgy cult classic remains a vibrant, unapologetic time capsule of a generation living right on the edge. It’s a fierce reminder of an era of subcultures and hyper-saturated style in a city where cool is deadly.

Presented by Sydney Opera House and Groovescooter

Event details

One of the film's successes is that it coherently keeps track of these disparate characters in an interesting way. Writer/director Clinton Smith has chosen a hyped-up reality look in terms of colours and angles that matches his inner-city, drug-laden, music-driven material... And well served by his performers, they're all really impressive.

Margaret Pomeranz – SBS The Movie Show

Cast and credits

Director/Writer Clinton Smith
Co-writer Peter Buckmaster
Producer Barton Smith

Jess Kylie Minogue
John Ben Mendelsohn
Andy Simon Lyndon
TT David Field
Cleo Paula Arundell
Sem Joel Edgerton

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Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

Location and access

Playhouse

The Playhouse is located in the north-western corner of Sydney Opera House, best accessed through the Western Foyers.

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