Fans of the Sydney Film Festival will be hanging on to the edge of their seats for June 18th, the closing night of the festival when the winner of the Sydney Film Prize will be announced.
This year’s crop boasts some tough competition from local and international talent, and amidst the excitement of some big name favourites, there is something for everyone.
Palme D’or winner Michael Haneke’s piece on the French refugee crisis, Happy End, will compete with Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled, a surprisingly dark and bloody addition to her body of work starring Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman, and Colin Farrell. The winning duo behind SFF 2013’s In Bloom will return with a sweetly comedic portrait of a 52-year-old woman leaving home for the first time in My Happy Family.
Local talent is exquisitely represented by Samson and Delilah director, Warwick Thornton. His latest documentary, We Don’t Need a Map, is political, hilarious, and enlightening, a perfect choice for the opening night film. Benedict Andrews’ debuts with his theatre adaptation Una, starring Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn.
From the US, Raoul Peck presents I Am Not Your Negro, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
Sundance recommends Thai comedy Pop Aye, and The Untamed adds a touch of erotic sci-fi to its social commentary. Shahrbanoo Sadat’s first feature gives us an insight into rural life in Afghanistan in Wolf and Sheep, where she melds mythology and realism with a cast of non-actors.
The Berlinale winners making an appearance are the melancholy comedy Other Side of Hope from Aki Kaurismaki, dreamy romance On Body and Soul, and the spirited story of a Congolese singer in Félicité.
Aside from the announcement of the 10th Sydney Film Prize, the closing night screening is high up on our hype list. Tilda Swinton, Ahn Seo-hyun, Paul Dano, and Jake Gyllenhaal front the cast of Netflix sci-fi Okja from Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-ho.
There’ll be plenty more Australian content on show, including advanced screenings of Cleverman‘s season 2, and David Wenham’s directorial debut Ellipsis, among a variety of special interest sidebars including everything from documentaries to virtual reality productions.
The 65th Sydney Film Festival runs from June 7th to the 18th.