The Sydney Film Festival is Now On

By Benjamen Judd

Official website

Movie buffs and cinema nerds, your Christmas has arrived – the annual Sydney Film Festival is well underway and it is looking to be one of the best selection of films to have come our way in a long time.

The Sydney Film Festival is one of the world’s longest-running film festivals, and is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar. The 12-day Festival screens feature films, documentaries, short films and animation from around the world in venues across the city including the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays, the Art Gallery of NSW, the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace in Cremorne and the Skyline Drive-In Blacktown. SFF also takes place at Apple Store Sydney and SFFTV @ Martin Place.

The flagship program of Sydney Film Festival is the Official Competition, which was established in 2008 and celebrates ‘courageous, audacious and cutting-edge’ cinema. The Sydney Film Prize and $60,000 cash is awarded by a jury of five Australian and international filmmakers and industry professionals to the winner among the 12 titles selected for the Official Competition. The Official Competition is endorsed by Federation Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films.

This year sees a rise in new, younger directorial and writing talents and a few more controversially public figures such as James Franco, who’s collection of short stories have been brought to life by Gia Coppola (of the Coppola Dynasty) in Palo Alto. Also showing is the winner of the Jury Prize at the most recent Cannes Film Festival, Xavier Dolan’s Mommy which explores the volatile relationship between a mother and her son in a dystopian future.

Easily one of the intellectually stimulating events on the Sydney calendar, the annual Sydney Film Festival is a fascinating look at the human psyche and exploration of cultural practice through art.

The Sydney Film Festival is now showing across various cinemas until June 15.