The Sydney Film Festival (June 7-18) has revealed the 12 titles competing in its 70th editionu edition, including five set to premiere at Cannes this month.
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Beast from Japan and Fallen leaves by Finnish teacher Ari Kaurismaki are two who will play in Competition in Cannes before going to Sydney, together Cobweb from Korean director Kim Jee-woon, which will play out of competition at Cannes.
Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies will be the first film from Morocco to ever compete in Sydney while The new boy by Australia’s Warwick Thornton is also up for the $US60,000 ($40,500) Sydney Film Award. Both are set to premiere at Un Certain Regard in Cannes. The new boyproduced by and starring Cate Blanchett, is also set to open Sydney.
Scroll down for the full list of contest titles
Across all sections, the festival will feature 13 films from Cannes. Already a record for Sydney, festival director Nashen Moodley said Screen waiting to plan more.
Germany is also in competition A fire, which won Christian Petzold the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize in Berlin. Chinese animated comedy/drama by Liu Jian College of Art 1994, which was also in competition in Berlin. and by Charlotte Regan Scrapperwinner of the World Cinema: Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in January.
The second Australian film in competition is by Alan Clarke The Dark Emu Storybased on the 2014 book by Bruce Pascoe Dark Emu, which challenged perceptions of how indigenous peoples traditionally lived. It sparked much debate and prompted a book by academics Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe. All three authors are among the interviewees for the documentary.
The competitive screening will be the world premiere for the film, which has yet to secure an international sales agent. Director Clarke previously won the top prize in the Sydney Documentary Competition with his 2021 film The Bowraville murders.
The Dark Emu Story It is produced by Sydney-based Blackfella Films and said producer Darren Dale Screen: “Nasen [Moodley] and the Sydney Film Festival’s commitment to First Nations stories is unparalleled.”
In total, the program includes 239 films from 67 countries, including Yemen, Burkina Faso and the Republic of Congo. Of these, 90 are narrative features and 37 are world premieres.
Moodley said he has never been happier with a program and is especially excited to have secured it The new boy.
“In more than 20 years of festival programming, I’ve never wanted a film as much as I wanted this one,” Moodley said after revealing the full competition line-up on Tuesday (May 9) at Sydney Town Hall.
The program also includes special presentations, a section on international documentaries and a Jane Campion retrospective. A closing night film has not yet been selected.
The evening featured a sneak peek at a ‘living archive’ celebrating the festival’s 70-year history.
Sydney Film Festival 2023 Competition Titles
A fire (Ger)
Dir. Christian Petzold
College of Art 1994 (China)
Dir. Liu Jian
Bad behaviour (NZ)
Dir. Alice Englert
Cobweb (S Kor)
Dir. Kim Jee-Woon
The Dark Emu Story (Australia)
Dir. Alan Clarke
Fallen leaves (Fin-Swe)
Dir. Aki Kaurismäki
Joram (India)
Dir. Devashish Makhija
Beast (Japan)
Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
The mother of all lies (Mor-Egypt-Saudi-Qatar)
Dir. Asmae El Moudir
The new boy (Australia)
Dir. Warwick Thornton
Past Lives (US)
Dir. Celine Song
Scrapper (UNITED KINGDOM)
Dir. Charlotte Regan
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