Sydney Film Festival

The Queens Birthday Long Weekend is here! Of course, going out and enjoying all you can possibly enjoy within the boundaries Mike Baird has so carefully set for us is imperative. Luckily, there’s plenty on this weekend so we thought we’d ’round up some of our favourites. Make sure you’re across these options below! Yeezy…

If there’s anything that sticks with you the most about Jan Gassmann’s latest documentary effort Europe, She Loves, it’s the striking cinematography. A surprisingly intimate look into the emotions and lives of five couples across Europe, the film never really looks, nor feels, like a documentary. It wears its authenticity with pride, inviting you to engage and…

Kicking off this year’s “Freak Me Out” program as part of the Sydney Film Festival was Tyler MacIntyre’s Patchwork, a horror-comedy gem that managed to fly under the radar when it was released last year. The charming indie is a literal blend of character, inventive in the way it draws from the influential idea behind…

Following its premiere as the opening night film of the 63rd annual Sydney Film Festival, The Iris sought to learn more about Goldstone from Director Ivan Sen. Chatting character, corruption, representation and scale, Sen gives us further insight into the follow-up to 2013’s universally acclaimed Mystery Road, as well as discussing how his direction has…

Stephen Sewell‘s erotic political thriller Embedded sees a former-war correspondent meet an alluring, enigmatic woman at a party, before a dangerous power play engulfs them both. Fergus Halliday caught up with Stephen in the lead-up to the film’s screening at the Sydney Film Festival and talked it’s origins and the ideas the film dissects. Where did…

Between Red Christmas, High-Rise and Patchwork, the 2016 Sydney Film Festival is delivering some really solid offerings for horror movie fans. Fergus Halliday caught up with the Sean Byrne, the director of The Devil’s Candy, to talk about the film’s appearance at the festival, the film’s origins and the state of Australian horror. I wanted to start by…

Simply put, Swiss Army Man is a story about how a man, whilst lost and trapped on an island, befriends a seemingly magical corpse in order to find his way back to civilisation. However, this film is far more than that, it’s an examination of a multitude of themes. A comedy, a drama,a tale of friendship…

Ahead of its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, Fergus Halliday sat down with Swiss director Jan Gassman to talk about his latest film Europe, She Loves. A frank and intimate documentary-hybrid, Europe, She Loves, documents the lives of four couples across Europe. The Iris: Such a fascinating and incredibly ambitious movie. How did Europe, She Loves begin?…

Dubbed the spiritual follow-up to the classic Dazed and Confused, award winning Writer and Director Richard Linklater is taking us back to the days of our youth – this time, the first days of College – in the acclaimed film Everybody Wants Some!!, which is screening as part of Sydney Film Festival and will be…

Simply titled and straight out of Denmark, A War dives into the thick of modern warfare and finds itself fascinated by the moral nuance that most blockbusters simply glaze over. It’s about a soldier coming to terms with a world that isn’t black and white – but not in the way you think. Pilou Asbæk headlines as Claus…

The Sydney Film Festival is kicking off this week and we’ve gathered together a short-list of some of the big films you’ll absolutely want to make space on your flexipass to see. Blood Father Directed by Jean-François Richet and show in the crispy outlands of New Mexico, Blood Father marks Mel Gibson’s return to the action movie. He…

The celebrate the screening of the Oscar-nominated A War at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, Danish actor Pilou Asbæk sat down with Fergus Halliday to chat about everything from the rules of engagement to Game of Thrones and the American election. I won’t take up much of your time so, I’ll jump right into it. The thing that, sort…

With interest in René Redzepi and his culinary perfection still at an all time high in Sydney, thanks to the recent Noma Australia pop-up, a documentary focusing on the highly regarded chef being included in Sydney Film Festival’s program this year works perfectly. As part of the annual festival’s Gourmet Cinema concept – which pairs…

Sydney Film Festival’s 2016 Travelling Film Festival announced its return to Newcastle this coming July, unveiling a program of international cinema direct from their premieres at Sydney Film Festival. Newcastle cinema-goers will be treated to screenings of the Festival’s opening and closing night films: Goldstone and Love & Friendship. Award-winning filmmaker Ivan Sen’s Goldstone, starring…

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant, besides festival director Nashen Moodley today announced the full program for the Sydney International Film Festival, declaring that the festival would present a staggering 244 films from 60 countries, including 25 World Premieres. This includes 139 Australian premieres (including 13 Australian premiere short films) and…

The 63rd Sydney Film Festival announced their new Beyond Cinema programme this week, including three free immersive film experiences combining cutting edge screen culture with new technologies designed to challenge and inspire. At the heart of the programme, in Sydney’s Lower Town Hall, the virtual reality installation Down the Rabbit Hole will screen nine virtual…

The Sydney Film Festival, nearing one month from its starting date, continues to make additions to the eleven-day event. This time pairing with Sydney restaurant The Bridge Room for a screen and dine event. The gourmet cinema event will run from the 14th-15th of June and start with a screening of Ants on a Shrimp:…

Last week. we revealed the first 26 titles of films being showcased in this year’s Sydney Film Festival. With more than 170 titles to be announced later next month (11AM on Wednesday 11th of May), Sydney Film Festival has revealed another 10 film titles for this year’s event which will entice any film enthusiast keen…

The upcoming 63rd Sydney Film Festival has revealed the first 26 of its 200+ film lineup for this year’s event. “These 26 films may just be a taste of what’s coming, but they already make for a compelling selection of the best in features and documentaries. These are films that can change your mind, change…

Sydney Film Festival and Lexus Australia have announced today 21 filmmakers which have been shortlisted by the producers at The Weinstein Company to compete in the largest cash fellowship for short film in Australia. Taking part in the selection process, Australian actress Judy Davis will take the role of Jury Chair. Other jury members include Sydney…

Australian and international filmmakers have just one week left to submit their work for the 63rd annual Sydney Film Festival, held on June 8-19, 2016. All entries must be submitted through Film Festival Life by 5pm AEST on Friday, February 26. Entries are open to features, documentaries, and short films (under 40 minutes). Visit Film…

Entries for the Sydney Film Festival’s 63rd annual show are now open. The festival will take place from 8th – 16th June in 2016, and will feature a range of features, documentaries and short films under 40 minutes. In 2015, over 250 films were screened to an audience of 176,000. All submissions are being accepted…

Got post Sydney Film Festival sadness? Us too. That’s why we’re ecstatic to learn that The Travelling Film Festival is bringing Ruben Guthrie and Women He’s Undressed to Wollongong’s Greater Union Cinemas. Brendan Cowell, the director, playright, screenwriter & actor of Ruben Guthriewill be in attendance of the film’s opening night in Wollongong where he will take part in a special audience Q&A after…

Last month, director Ondi Timoner – perhaps best known for her incredible documentary DIG!, among many others – was in Sydney to premiere her new documentary Brand: A Second Coming at the Sydney Film Festival. Larry Heath had the opportunity to talk to Ondi about the film, about collaborating with Russell, his controversial no-show at SXSW…

The Cambodian Space Project – Not Easy Rock ‘n Roll  was a documentary hit for audiences that attended Sydney Film Festival. Larry Heath had the opportunity to speak with both producer, Richard Kuipers and cinematographer, Marc Eberle about the film and how it developed.

During Sydney Film Festival, Larry Heath spoke to producers Ant Timpson and Andrew Beattie about the comedy/horror film, Deathgasm.  The struggle in getting this film to happen was not easy – let alone entering competitions that would value its concepts. Deathgasm began in the works through application in movie competitions and suffice it to say,…

Over the last two weeks, our Sydney Film Festival review team have covered some 40 films at the festival, the reviews of which you can look back at HERE. After much debate and discussion, we’re now counting down our favourite films of the festival: FICTION FEATURE FILMS: 6. Love & Mercy is a powerful and tragic…

I’m ending my Sydney Film Festival coverage looking at a short film that was a perfect end to the run of incredible cinema at the 62nd annual event. Sari Braithwaite’s Smut Hounds was a nine minute film, screening before the French film Metamorphoses, detailing the festival’s role in bringing the conversation of censorship to the…

Given my past experiences with the horrific disease, I’m one person that finds the deus ex machina of cancer unbearable. It is often done tastelessly, depicting it’s sufferers as people without autonomy or regarded with the self-respect that they deserve – cancer patients are people, not pawns that should be used to explain a protagonist…

Once named “the director of the decade” from the late, iconic film critic Roger Ebert (who, in turn, has this film dedicated to him), Ramin Bahrani’s new film 99 Homes is a self-described “humanist thriller”, which takes us into the realities of the American housing crisis, out of which tragedy and corruption has emerged. Set…