The 60th edition of the Sydney Film Festival is a cinephile’s dream
It may not have the Riviera glitz and glamour of Cannes, but there’s plenty to love about Sydney’s own tribute to celluloid gold. The Sydney Film Festival, which unfolds over 12 days in June, is known for unearthing cinematic talent from Australia and around the world, thanks to a program that spans art house, arresting documentaries, left-field shorts and narrative features.
You don’t have to be in the industry to get swept up in festival fever. Here’s our round-up of the films bound to linger in your mind all year.
Mystery Road
This taut genre piece focuses on Jay Swan, an indigenous inner-city detective who returns to his isolated hometown to solve the murder of a teenage girl. Starring Aaron Pederson, Hugo Weaving and Jack Thompson, the film owes its power to the way it uses Western narrative devices to map the psychology of the Australian Outback.
When: Wednesday June 5, 7:30 pm
Where: State Theatre
Richard Lanklater’s Before Trilogy
It’s hard to overstate the impact of Before Sunrise – the cult 1995 film that follows a chance encounter between two travellers in Vienna. The film, which stars Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke and features meandering, dialogue-heavy sequences, could have easily been dismissed as an art house flop but somehow managed to educate a generation of cynics about the possibilities of emotional connection. This year’s festival will pay homage to the Before Trilogy by screening Before Sunrise and the 2004 sequel Before Sunset alongside the widely anticipated final chapter,Before Midnight.
When: Saturday June 8, 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm and 9:30 pm
Where: State Theatre
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer
Directed by Academy Award-nominated producer Mike Lerner, this incisive documentary takes a look at the fallout surrounding the arrest of Pussy Riot, an all-girl Russian punk group that lampooned Putin’s regime by staging a provocative performance in a Moscow cathedral. Weaving interviews with friends and family and live footage,Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer offers sharp commentary on the collision of punk politics, feminism and power.
When: Saturday 8 June, 4:30 pm
Where: Event Cinemas
Only God Forgives
Director Nicholas Winding Refn’s follow-up to the suspenseful neo-noir Drive may have divided critics with its obsessive violence, but it promises to be a compelling study in style over substance. The film sees Ryan Gosling star as the owner of a Bangkok boxing club and follows his descent into the city’s seedy underworld. Although not for the squeamish, fans of the director should not miss it.
When: Saturday 15 June, 7:00 pm
Where: State Theatre
The Look of Love
Collaborators Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan join forces to chronicle the life of Paul Raymond, the notorious nightclub baron whose empire spanned Soho strip clubs and soft-porn magazines such as Men Only andEscort, as well as the stormy relationships with the women in his life. Although it takes the form of a biopic, it also paints a gripping portrait of hedonism and nihilism in ’60s and ’70s London.
When: Saturday 15 June, 9:30 pm
Where: Event Cinemas
For more information visit the Sydney Film Festival site.