The time has finally come, kids. Tickets for all Sydney Film Festival screenings are officially available for purchase. And boy oh boy, is there a ludicrous amount of awesome films to choose from this year!
You can see the full list of all 288 pictures here which includes films from 59 countries and 37 world premiers.
You’ve probably already sensed that I’m way too excited about the 64th Sydney Film Festival (7th-18th June). I could sit here all day listing every single film I want to go and see but for your convenience (and my mental health), let me break it down a bit…
Opening Night
The festival kicks off with the world premier of We Don’t Need a Map, an Aussie doco exploring Australia’s relationship to the Southern Cross from colonial and indigenous history through to present day. Warwick Thornton (the acclaimed Indigenous director behind this insightful documentary) will be presenting the film on the night.
We Don’t Need a Map
by Warwick Thornton
Closing Night
Korean director Bong Joon-ho will present his film Okja which premiered at Cannes earlier this year. Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and An Seo-hyun star in this one, and it’s the only chance you’ll get to see it on the big screen in ‘Straya.
OKJA
by Bong Joon-ho
The Sydney Film Prize
Celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary, this year’s competition consists of twelve films including Sofia Coppola’s Beguiled (Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman & Kirsten Dunst) and Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope (a Finnish comedy-drama about a Syrian refugee’s unlikely friendship with a poker-playing restauranteur). The winner will be announced at the Closing Night Gala on Sunday 18th June.
Films I’m Generally Excited About
Madame by Amanda Sthers will celebrate its world premier at the festival. Featuring Toni Collette and Harvey Keitel, this comedy-drama centres around an American couple living in Paris. Seriously, how can you not love a film starring some home-grown talent from Blacktown and a guy who was in both Reservoir Dogs AND Sister Act?!
Blue is another hotly anticipated premier. Directed by Karina Holden, this timely documentary about the threats to our oceans is a contender for this year’s Australian Documentary Prize.
Wild Mouse is an Austrian comedy by Josef Hader. Nominated for the Golden Bear Award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, it follows the chaotic downward spiral of a midlife crisis gone horribly awry.
Meanwhile, Ingrid Goes West is a comedy by Matt Spicer following a desperate young woman on a quest across the USA to essentially stalk a social media influencer in Los Angeles.
Blue
by Karina Holden
The Hub
The Festival Hub at Town Hall is a full on film-fest experience filled with talks, panels, parties, contemporary art and virtual reality. Open to the public all nights and select days from 8-18 June, it also doubles as a pop-up bar. Also – bargain alert…many of the events are free.
Chillin’ Out at The Hub
What To Do Next
1) Check out the full list of films here.
One short article does not do this festival justice. There are too many amazing films and events for my relatively small brain to comprehend so go and check out the outrageously awesome range of films for yourself.
2) Buy a Flexi Pass here.
If you want cheaper tickets, you can bulk buy 10, 20 or 30 and make some decent savings. (Or if you’d rather pay as you go, that’s fine too…no pressure!)
3) Stay tuned here.
It is safe to say that over the next few weeks there will be countless articles, reviews and general expressions of excitement by yours truly centred around the Sydney Film Festival. So chuck Sydney Social 101 on your old faves list and keep up to date with everything SFF!
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