Sydney Film Festival is back for 2016 with nearly 250 films screening at venues around Sydney. Check out some of our tips for the hottest tickets at this year’s festival below, and see the full program at sff.org.au.
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State Theatre, Friday June 17 / Event Cinemas George Street, Sunday June 19
Legendary filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has finally crafted another documentary, this one a tribute to the formative years and subsequent musical career of Iggy and The Stooges. Gimme Danger is fresh off being featured at Cannes Film Festival, and is a must-see for rock and Stooges fans alike.
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Skyline Drive In Blacktown, Friday June 10 / Event Cinemas George Street, Saturday June 11
Tom Hiddleston heads an unreal cast for this dystopian novel adaptation that depicts the residents of a tower apartment block as they descend from luxury and morality into savagery and murder. Apart from its George Street screening, High-Rise will also show at New South Wales’ only remaining twin drive-in cinema, Skyline in Blacktown.
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International Animation Showcase
Event Cinemas George Street, Saturday June 11
Sydney Film Festival’s International Animation Showcase will see ten of the best animated films from around the globe on display in one session. Selected from over 4,300 submissions, the showcase will display films from Canada, the US, France, Spain, Estonia, the UK and Ireland in a snapshot of international imagination.
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Dendy Opera Quays, Saturday June 11 and Monday June 13
Program: European Cinema – 10 Women Filmmakers To Watch
Thank You For Bombing is a fictionalised, behind-the-scenes account of the experiences of war correspondents told in the format of a documentary. Split into three stories, this Barbara Eder-written film explores the price of journalistic integrity through an insightful look at three people who deliver news at all costs.
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Dendy Newtown, Saturday June 11 / Event Cinemas George Street, Wednesday June 15
Program: International Documentaries
The US drone program is as chilling as it is secretive, and National Bird brings to life the cold reality of identifying and killing targets on the other side of the world through the eyes of three whistle-blowing former US Air Force analysts, while also exploring the life-altering consequences for those involved.
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Dendy Newtown, Friday June 10 / Event Cinemas George Street, Saturday June 11
Program: Sounds On Screen [also pictured above]
Featuring music from St. Vincent, Nelly Furtado and Dev Hynes, Contemporary Color is a Tribeca Film Festival award-winning film showcasing the complex marching sequences and flag-twirling of ten elite colour guard teams. In between their sets, viewers will be taken inside the world of the colour guards through backstage conversations and interviews.
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Dendy Opera Quays Cinema, Friday June 10 and Sunday June 19
Program: Short Films
This year’s Sydney Film Festival features an incredible selection of some of Australia’s best short films chosen from thousands of submissions. Another Kind Of Girl is a particularly timely piece, documenting the story of a 17-year-old Syrian refugee and the life she lives in a refugee camp in the space of just ten minutes.
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State Theatre, Sunday June 19 (also showing at the Hayden Orpheum Cremorne on the same evening)
Closing Night Gala
In a fitting farewell to the 63rd annual Sydney Film Festival, the Closing Night Gala is set to be an evening of applause, awards and acclaim at the State Theatre. The night will feature the Whit Stillman film Love & Friendship, a film that follows a romance of a Jane Austen novella and sees it come to life as a vibrant comedy.
For the full program head to sff.org.au.
