The 2nd Inner West Film Fest  has announced the first five films from this year’s program, including actor and director Faouzi Bensaïdi’s comical road film, Déserts, which premiered at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight; and the Australian premiere of Drugstore June.

The line-up will also include writer-director Ally Pankiw’s directorial debut feature, I Used to Be Funny, starring rising star Rachel Sennot as a promising stand-up and the latest film from Denys Arcand, Testament,  which pokes fun at political correctness, identity politics, protests and cultural scandals, while humorously teasing both sides of the divisive fence.

IWFF will also celebrate the 45th Anniversary of writer/director William Richert’s 1979 satirical black comedy thriller, Winter Kills. The film is inspired by assassination conspiracy theories surrounding President John F. Kennedy and features an all-star cast including Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins and many more.

The festival will also host a pitching competition, with the jury consisting of actor and filmmaker Jeremy Sims, director and writer Sally Aitken, producer Aline Jacques, The Solid State founder and director Walter Beinz, Foxtel Group head of scripted originals Lana Greenhalgh and Arenamedia executive producer Robert Patterson.