 | |
| Location | Sydney, Australia |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1954 |
| Awards | The Sydney Film Prize |
| Directors | Nashen Moodley |
| Festival date | Opening: 4 June 2025 (2025-06-04) Closing: 15 June 2025 (2025-06-15) |
| Language | International |
| Website | https://www.sff.org.au/ |
| Current:72nd Sydney Film Festival | |
73rd | |
TheSydney Film Festival is an annual competitivefilm festival held inSydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize.
As of 2023[update], the festival's director is Nashen Moodley.[1]
Influenced by the experience of Australian film makers with theEdinburgh Film Festival since 1947 and the festival connected with the annual meeting of the Australian Council of Film Societies held atOlinda in theDandenong Ranges,Victoria in 1952, laterMelbourne International Film Festival, a committee sprang from the Film Users Association of New South Wales to establish a film festival in Sydney. The committee includedAlan Stout, Professor of Philosophy atThe University of Sydney, filmmakersJohn Heyer and John Kingsford Smith, and Federation of Film Societies secretary David Donaldson.[2] Under the direction of Donaldson, the inaugural festival opened on 11 June 1954 and was held over four days, with screenings at Sydney University. Attendance was at full capacity with 1,200 tickets sold at one guinea each.[2]
By 1958, the festival attracted its first international sponsored guest,Paul Rotha, and advertising into the festival catalogue. The following year, the program expanded to seventeen days and by 1960 exceeded 2,000 subscribers with the introduction of the Opening Night feature film and party.[3] Censorship difficulties arose in the mid-1960s and continued until such time as the festival was granted exemption from censorship in 1971.[4]
From inception until 1967, the University remained the annual home of the festival. The following year, the festival moved to the Wintergarden inRose Bay where it remained for the ensuing five years. The historicState Theatre became the home of the festival in 1974,[2] and remains one of the festival venues to date.[5] In 2007, the festival introduced a series of live gigs, shows and cabaret-style screening at the nearby Metro Theatre.
Owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the 2020 festival staged a reduced, online-only version, and in 2021 was delayed to open on 3 November with the audience limited first to 75 per cent capacity, increasing to 100 per cent from 8–21 November. The films were also available online.[6]
The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre, and includesfeatures,documentaries,short films, retrospectives, films for families and animations. Films are shown at venues across theSydney CBD, with films shown at the Dendy Opera Quays,Event Cinemas in George Street, theArt Gallery of New South Wales,Ritz Cinemas,Sydney Town Hall, theMuseum of Contemporary Art as well as theState Theatre.[citation needed]
As of 2023[update] the festival's director is Nashen Moodley,[1][7] who commenced in early 2012, replacingClare Stewart.[8]
Patrons of the festival includeGillian Armstrong,Cate Blanchett,Jane Campion,Nicole Kidman,Baz Luhrmann,George Miller, andSam Neill among others.[9]
Although a small number of prizes existed from the mid–1980s, prior to 2007, the Sydney Film Festival was classified by theInternational Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) as a Non-Competitive Feature Film Festival. On 10 September 2007, the Festival announced it had received funding from the New South Wales Government to host an official international competition, which rewarded "new directions in film". The FIAFP has since classified the Sydney Film Festival as a Competitive Specialised Feature Film Festival.[10]
As of 2024[update] the total prize pool was worthA$200,000. Prizes were awarded in the following categories:[11]
Past awards have included:
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| Year | Film | Director | Countrie(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Hunger | Steve McQueen | Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| 2009 | Bronson | Nicolas Winding Refn | United Kingdom | |
| 2010 | Heartbeats | Xavier Dolan | Canada | [14] |
| 2011 | A Separation | Asghar Farhadi | Iran | |
| 2012 | Alps | Yorgos Lanthimos | Greece | |
| 2013 | Only God Forgives | Nicolas Winding Refn | Denmark, France | |
| 2014 | Two Days, One Night | Dardenne brothers | Belgium, France, Italy | [15] |
| 2015 | Arabian Nights | Miguel Gomes | Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland | |
| 2016 | Aquarius | Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil, France | |
| 2017 | On Body and Soul | Ildikó Enyedi | Hungary | |
| 2018 | The Heiresses | Marcelo Martinessi | Paraguay | |
| 2019 | Parasite | Bong Joon-ho | South Korea | |
| 2020 | Festival cancelled due to theCOVID-19 outbreak | |||
| 2021 | There Is No Evil | Mohammad Rasoulof | Germany, Czech Republic, Iran | |
| 2022 | Close | Lukas Dhont | Belgium, France, Netherlands | [16] |
| 2023 | The Mother of All Lies | Asmae El Moudir | Morocco, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia | [1] |
| 2024 | There's Still Tomorrow | Paola Cortellesi | Italy | [17] |
| 2025 | It Was Just an Accident | Jafar Panahi | Iran, France, Luxembourg | |
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
