The Sydney Film Festival is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and the good news is that it will be here in just over a month's time!
As a Sydneysider, I am particularly proud of the Sydney Film Festival because it is so vibrant and energetic, so full of good movies including hidden gems that I have never even heard of, and above all, it is the film festival for the City of Sydney. It is our film festival.
Earlier this month, 27 of the 160 films in this year's packed program were announced. Judging by these first titles, one can already tell that the full program will be nothing short of spectacular.
"These are some of the best productions from all over the world that we have in store for you; the films Australia will be hearing about, talking about and arguing about over the next year. You'll see them here first. Between them, they capture the mood of the times that make us who and what we are today," said SFF Festival Director Nashen Moodley about the first announced titles.
Our Australia & NZ Editor Simon de Bruyn picked The Act of Killing, Outrage Beyond, Rear Window and Frankenstein's Army as his must-see titles at this year's SFF. For me, the films that are of the most interest are as follows, together with what the Festival organizers say about the films:
Comrade Kim Goes Flying: The first North Korean movie ever to screen at SFF (and the first co-production with capitalist countries in 30 years) is a fabulous romantic comedy about a female coal miner who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist with the Pyongyang Circus. Thoroughly mainstream and made without government interference, the film features communist propaganda imperatives and Western cravings for kitsch coalescing in perfect triple-somersault harmony.
Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls: Winner of SFF's FOXTEL Australian Documentary Prize in 2010 with The Snowman, director Juliet Lamont returns with the insightful and entertaining story of Burma's first girl band. The five young girls, led by their Australian mentor Miss Nikki, face all the challenges of a music career, channelling girl power to break with age-old cultural traditions and face the massive changes sweeping their homeland.
Oh Boy: German hit Oh Boy is part slacker comedy, part chronicle of Berlin's transition to hipster cool. College dropout Niko has been dumped by his girlfriend, is in trouble with the law, has just been cut off by his father and can no longer buy a cup of 'normal coffee'. Soon a series of chance encounters will have a profound influence on his future.
The trailers for these 3 films are embedded below.
Finally, just like the past 2 years, I will again be providing coverage of the Sydney Film Festival this year. So stay tuned for more news and reviews!