Sydney Film Festival 2015: The Top 15 Picks

Amy

From the BAFTA-winning team behind the acclaimed documentary Senna comes the story of Amy Winehouse, five-time Grammy Award winner and arguably this millennium's greatest British female singer/songwriter. The documentary tells, in the megastar's own uncensored words and actions, of a young Londoner's coming of age in the public eye. Winehouse's genius and artistry propelled her to a level of celebrity she could never truly come to terms with. The filmmakers were granted interviews with family members, close friends and colleagues, as well as access to never-before-seen archival footage. Above all, this insightful portrait focuses on the music of Amy Winehouse – the driving force of an incredible talent whose tragic loss was felt deeply by the music industry and music lovers around the world.

Corn Island

The winner of multiple festival awards, Corn Island, with minimal dialogue and gorgeous imagery, tells a profound story of perseverance and survival on a barren island. The film is set on the Enguri River, which forms the border between Georgia and the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia, a hotly contested territory since the early '90s. Every spring small islands of fertile soil are created and it is one such island that an old farmer lives with his granddaughter sowing corn. In meticulous detail we witness their labour and the passage of time through the length of the corn stalks. The calm is interrupted when an injured soldier seeks refuge, and as the farmer's granddaughter blossoms into womanhood, it is clear that island life will never be the same. Shot on 35mm, Corn Island offers an immersive, purely cinematic experience.

Dope

Fresh, exuberant and brilliantly paced, Dope is a smart comedy about a group of geeks who, through a series of missteps, end up with a stash of drugs that they have to sell in order to survive. Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) are the outcasts of their school in a tough, gang-ridden neighbourhood. Constantly on the run from bullies at school and the drug dealers in their hood, the friends bond over their obsession with '90s hip-hop culture and their punk band. When Malcolm inadvertently ends up with a stash of ecstasy belonging to a notorious dealer (A$AP Rocky), they are forced to sell it, which sets them off on a crazy adventure – all this while Malcolm is trying to get into Harvard. With a sparkling soundtrack, including new songs by Pharrell Williams, Dope is energetic, inspiring and laugh-out-loud funny.

Kabukicho Love Hotel

In the latest from former 'pink film' director Ryuichi Hiroki, a love hotel in Tokyo's red-light district plays host to the salacious goings-on of its revolving door of occupants. Over the course of a day, young hotel manager Toru's life is thrown upside down when he runs into his aspiring singer girlfriend Saya (Atsuko Maeda; Tamako in Moratorium, SFF 2014), sleeping her way to a record deal, and his younger sister shooting a porno. Korean 'delivery girl' Mena juggles life at escort agency Juicy Fruits and her relationship with boyfriend Chong-su. Tales of heartbreak and desire combine to craft a tragicomic portrait of disaffected Japanese urbanites, with a fascinating balance of graphic sex and sentimentality.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is an original film about friendship, creativity, mortality and the love of cinema. Greg (Thomas Mann) is a high school senior who is trying to blend in as anonymously as possible. Even his closest friend Earl (R.J. Cyler) is described as a ‘co-worker'. Together, Greg and Earl create parodies of classic films. Their repertoire includes: Pooping Tom, A Sockwork Orange, Senior Citizen Cane and 2:48PM Cowboy. When Greg's mom (Connie Britton) insists he spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke) – a girl who has just been diagnosed with cancer – he slowly discovers how worthwhile the true bonds of friendship can be. Greg decides to make a film for Rachel, one that will test the limits of his creativity and lay bare his feelings for her. With a great score by Brian Eno, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is full of humour and pathos – and a glorious love letter to cinema.

My Skinny Sister

The winner of the Crystal Bear at Berlinale, as well as an audience award at the Goteborg Film Festival, My Skinny Sister is an insightful drama with moments of genuine humour. At the heart of this family story are two sisters: chubby Stella and teenage Katja. Like many siblings, they have a love-hate relationship, with squabbles over belongings and personal space. Katja is an obsessive ice-skater, out on the rink day and night preparing for performances. Stella tries to emulate her big sis, but spends most of the time butt down on the ice. Beneath Katja's bright success, however, is the onset of an eating disorder, something her troubled parents ignore and her little sister frets about. Filmmaker Sanna Lenken's debut feature is blessed with standout performances from Rebecka Josephson (granddaughter of famous Bergman actor Erland Josephson, who stars in the 2015 SFF-screening The Face) as the golden-haired Stella, and Amy Deasismont (a pop singer and television presenter in her native Sweden), as her older sibling.

My Love, Don't Cross That River

This exquisitely crafted documentary tells a story rarely heard; that of a couple married for 76 years. Dressed in traditional Korean clothing, the ancient duo spends their days gathering wood, clearing a path through the snow or cooking simple, customary fare. He picks her flowers and sings her songs; they sleep hand-in-hand. Their love seems immutable and you can well imagine these lovebirds in the bloom of youth. But, time stands stills for no one, and Jo Byeong-man, the older of the duo at 98, is becoming progressively frail. Director Jin Mo-young filmed the couple in their mountain village over 15 months. The touching result was a box-office sensation and the most commercially successfully Korean documentary of all time.

Our Little Sister

Straight from its Competition berth in Cannes, Our Little Sister is the latest film from Japanese master Kore-eda Hirokazu, twice a Cannes prize-winner, for Like Father, Like Son and Nobody Knows. Through his films, Kore-eda is known to frequently explore themes of love and family ties, in festival favourites such as After Life (SFF 1999), Hana (SFF 2007), and Still Walking (SFF 2009). In Our Little Sister, based on the award-winning manga Umimachi Diary, he tells a sensitive and poetic tale of sisterly love. Three sisters – Sachi, Yoshino and Chika – live together in a large house in the city of Kamakura. When their father – absent from the family home for the last 15 years – dies, they travel to the countryside for his funeral, and meet their shy teenage half-sister. Bonding quickly with the orphaned Suzu, they invite her to live with them. Suzu eagerly agrees, and a new life of joyful discovery begins for the four siblings.

Slow West

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance, this unconventional western is both thrilling and romantic. Aristocratic 16-year-old Jay (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is desperate to be reunited with the woman he loves, Rose, and travels from Scotland to Colorado to find her. Unprepared for the dangers of the frontier, he teams up with the wily Silas (Michael Fassbender) who agrees to protect him – for a fee. Their quest soon attracts the attention of Payne (Ben Mendelsohn) and his posse of outlaws, and so begins a race to reach Rose. Unflinching in its depiction of the violence of the era, Slow West is also extremely humorous and drenched in unforgettable imagery. The debut feature of John Maclean features great performances, and like any great western, a breath-taking shootout.

Song of the Sea

An enchanting treat for families, Tomm Moore's latest hand-drawn animated feature (after Secret of Kells, SFF 2009) is inspired by Ireland's rich Celtic folklore. Ben and his fairy-like sister, Saoirse, live on a rocky island, where seals bob up to inspect their every activity. When their lighthouse keeper father (voiced by Brendan Gleeson) reluctantly sends them to live with their gruff granny, the unhappy siblings are quick to plan their return. Aided by a horde of ghostly-but-kind creatures, Ben and Saiorse face many adventures on their magical journey home. Moore's legend-inspired tale, nominated for Best Animated Feature Oscar this year, is chock-full of glorious imagery, captivating critters and lilting Gaelic music.

Tangerine

Wickedly funny and refreshingly offbeat, Tangerine is a hilarious journey through the lively streets of L.A. with two transgender sex workers on Christmas Eve. Intimate and brilliantly shot, the film is all the more remarkable as it was filmed entirely on an iPhone. Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez), having just been released from a stint in prison, discovers that her pimp boyfriend Chester (James Ransone) has been unfaithful. Adding insult to injury, Chester's been cheating with a ‘fish' – a derogatory term for a biological woman. Incensed, Sin-Dee and her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor) embark on a wild mission to get to the bottom of the rumour. Director Sean Baker (Prince of Broadway, Starlet) is adept at telling intimate stories involving characters at the margins of mainstream society. Here he decided to shoot with the iPhone 5s (fitted with prototype anamorphic adaptors), as it would be less intimidating for the first-time actors. The result is natural and exuberant performances in one of the most surprising, funny and heartfelt films you'll see this year.

Tehran Taxi

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, Tehran Taxi is the third film made secretly by Jafar Panahi since a ban on filmmaking was imposed on him in Iran. Where This Is Not A Film was an expression of great frustration following the ban, Panahi's next film Closed Curtain was filled with anger. Tehran Taxi is more hopeful, and frequently very funny. A taxi drives through the city streets and various passengers enter, each expressing their views on a range of matters relating to Iran today. The driver is Jafar Panahi himself, and he has a camera attached to the dashboard. Some of the passengers know who he is, but most don't. A seller of pirated DVDs certainly recognises the great director, and tries to boost his business by claiming that Panahi is his business partner. Panahi and the various characters he encounters reflect on art, politics, and the law. Perhaps the most fascinating encounter is with Panahi's young niece, who is making a film herself and trying to follow her teacher's instructions not to depict a "sordid realism." Playful, funny and optimistic, Tehran Taxi finds Panahi at his most creative and entertaining, giving one hope that the creator of such great films as The Circle, Offside and Crimson Gold (all screened SFF 2011), will soon make films, and travel the world, freely.

The Chinese Mayor

Though it was once the capital of Imperial China, little of Datong's former glory remains. It's now the most polluted city in the country, the consequence of a now-declining mining industry. Mayor Geng wants to reverse its fortunes, but this involves relocating over half a million residents. Not everyone supports his vision. Undeterred, he sets out to rebuild the ancient walls and create a tourist attraction. A party conformist who reads Buddhist scriptures, the surprising Mayor wins over the community – and the viewer. A Special Jury Award winner at Sundance, this captivating behind-the-scenes look at today's China is from Zhaoqi Films, the same company that produced festival favourites Last Train Home (SFF 2010) and Fallen City (SFF 2013).

The Daughter

Simon Stone's auspicious feature film debut, inspired by his award-winning adaptation of The Wild Duck, brings together a magnificent cast in a heartrending drama about two intertwined families. Christian (Paul Schneider) returns to his family home, after a long absence, for his father Henry's lavish wedding to a much younger woman. Henry (Geoffrey Rush) is the owner of the local timber mill, which he is closing down, causing much hardship in the area. While home, Christian reconnects with his childhood friend Oliver (Ewen Leslie), an employee at the timber mill who is now out of a job. He begins to bond with Oliver's wife Charlotte (Miranda Otto), daughter Hedvig (Odessa Young) and father Walter (Sam Neill and starts piecing together a puzzle that will have devastating consequences. Stone fully formed characters. It is about a daughter, but also about fathers and sons, and an intergenerational meshing linked to class and sex. This is the sort of serious, emotional drama of which we see far too little, featuring brilliant actors at the height of their powers.

The Russian Woodpecker

This agreeably eccentric film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Ukrainian artist Fedor Alexandrovich, was a young boy when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded and radioactive drizzle covered northern Europe in 1986. Adjacent to the reactor was a billion dollar Soviet-era construction, the Duga, which transmitted a curious clicking noise (a.k.a ‘the Russian woodpecker') across the airwaves. Alexandrovich interviews former Soviet officials and scientists about the structure's sinister purpose and the part it may have played in the Chernobyl disaster. Set against the backdrop of today's conflicted Ukraine, his obsessive attempts to unravel the mystery play out like a cross between a Cold War thriller and a paranoid drug trip.