In exciting news for film fans, Sydney Film Festival (SFF) Director Nashen Moodley has announced that “two new documentaries, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine and Among the Believers; along with one new feature, The Assassin, direct from Cannes, will be added to the Sydney Film Festival program”.
Renowned documentarian and SFF guest Alex Gibney, whose film Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown is also screening at the festival, directs Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine. Gibney, a self-confessed Apple aficionado, uses the film as a stepping point to pose questions about the nature of man and machine, as he tells the story of a world changer, one not without flaws. Featuring exclusive anecdotes and interviews which reveal conflicts in the boardroom, problematic personal decisions, and Jobs’ marketing genius, the documentary is a must-see film for fans of the brainchild behind Apple. And if the film is not enough, Gibney will also appear in conversation in a special event being co-presented by Vivid Ideas and SFF.
The documentary is set to screen at 9.15pm, Friday 5 June and 6pm Friday 12 June, at Event Cinemas George Street.
Directed by Indian filmmaker Hemal Trivedi and Pakistani filmmaker Mohammed Ali Naqv, Among the Believers is a remarkable and intimate documentary filmed over several years. Granted unprecedented access, the two filmmakers explore the power struggle between Muslim extremists and secular leaders, presenting with brutal clarity the ideological battles shaping up in Pakistan and the Muslim world today. The film premiered at the recent Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and features interviews with individuals such as Abdul Aziz Ghazi, an ISIS supporter and Taliban ally, and Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a nuclear physicist and educational activist who is desperately fighting to combat extremism in his country.
Among the Believers screens at 5.15pm, Saturday 13 June and 4.30pm, Saturday 14 June, at Event Cinemas George Street.
Coming straight from competition at Cannes where director Hou Hsiao-hsien won the Best Director Award, The Assassin is a beautiful and enigmatic martial arts epic. Set in 9th century China, the film tells the tale of 10-year-old Nie Yinniaang, who is abducted by a nun who initiates the young girl in the art of martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt politicians. Thirteen years later she is sent back to the land of her birth with orders to kill the man to whom she was once betrothed.
The Assassin screens at 8pm, Saturday 13 June and 7pm, Sunday 14 June at Event Cinemas George Street.
To purchase tickets and to check out the full SFF program, head to http://www.sff.org.au/
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