Two French scientists obsessed with volcanoes and each other. A Catalonian farming family has their livelihood and land threatened by changing times. A Mexican teen’s search for his long lost father. A young shape-shifting woman searching for her identity and purpose. What do all these stories have in common? They are all premises to films featured in the Official Competition category at the 69th Sydney Film Festival that was held from the 8th to the 19th of June.
The festival roared back to its usual June timeslot after two COVID affected years featuring over 200 films including recent Cannes Film Festival hits, restorations, short films and special presentations plus a myriad of events and interviews. The festival was held at some of Sydney’s best venues including the Hayden Orpheum, Dendy Newtown and The Ritz Cinemas in Randwick. Its flagship venue however is the stunning State Theatre where the Closing Night ceremony concluded the festival and many coveted and prestigious awards were bestowed.
The winner of the Official Competition and the $60,000 cash prize was the film Close by Lukas Dhont, a film that recently impressed at Cannes, it captures an intense teen friendship that is slowly torn apart. Luke Cornish had a great festival with his documentary Keep Stepping named both the winner of the Australian Documentary Award with its $10,000 cash prize and the Audience Award winner for Best Documentary. The film is a lively story of two female performers training for Australia’s biggest street dance performance. The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films named The Moth’s Will Eat Them Up as their winner, a film about a woman’s normal train ride home turning into a frightening ordeal with a stranger. Another win for Australian cinema was the quirky and relatable comedy Evicted. A Modern Romance being named the Audience Award winner for Best Feature. So jot these down and keep an eye out for when these films hit cinemas near you.
I managed to get a seat at two of the festival’s hottest showings, Baz Lurhmann’s latest film Elvis at the State Theatre and the newest Palme-d’or winner from Ruben Östlund Triangle of Sadness at The Ritz. Both screenings were sold out and packed with enthusiastic cinema-goers anticipating something special. And boy were we treated with both of these fantastic films. Elvis is loud, dazzling and an epic in every sense of the word. Austin Butler gives a star-making, hip-shaking and ground-breaking performance in the titular role; he sings, speaks, dances and becomes Elvis in a truly magnificent way! Triangle of Sadness is a sharp and utterly hilarious satire on influencer culture, class and the rich that is not afraid to go there. I don’t remember laughing harder in a cinema and was completely hooked by the characters and wild turns of the story. Dolly De Leon gives a scene-stealing performance that deserves awards recognition at year’s end.
The Sydney Film Festival is a highlight of the year for me, and this year was no exception. I encourage you to pencil it into your calendar for next year. It truly is special to be able to watch international cinema in our own backyard, so if you’re interested in keeping this great event continuing you can volunteer or donate to the festival at their website www.sff.org.au.
*Keep up to date with Chris as he celebrates all things culinary and cinematic with his Film and Food Podcast. Learn more at: www.filmandfoodpodcast.com
1 Comment
Pingback: Sydney Film Festival turns 70 - The Tawny Frogmouth