The 70th annual Sydney Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 June 2023.[1][2] Warwick Thornton's drama film The New Boy opened the festival and James Mangold's action adventure film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was the closing film.[3][4]
| Opening film | The New Boy by Warwick Thornton |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by James Mangold |
| Location | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Festival date | 7–18 June 2023 |
| Website | sff |
Asmae El Moudir's documentary film The Mother of All Lies won the Sydney Film Prize.[5]
Juries
editThe following were named as the festival juries:[6]
Sydney Film Prize
edit- Anurag Kashyap, Indian director – Jury President
- Mia Wasikowska, Australian actor
- Dorothee Wenner, German film curator and journalist
- Larissa Behrendt, Australian writer and director
- Visakesa Chandrasekaram, Sri Lankan filmmaker
Official Selection
editIn competition
editThe following films were selected for the main international competition:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afire | Roter Himmel | Christian Petzold | Germany |
| Art College 1994 | 藝術學院 | Liu Jian | China |
| Bad Behaviour | Alice Englert | New Zealand | |
| Cobweb | 거미집 | Kim Jee-woon | South Korea |
| The Dark Emu Story | Allan Clarke | Australia | |
| Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet | Aki Kaurismäki | Finland, Sweden |
| Joram | Devashish Makhija | India | |
| Monster | 怪物 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| The Mother of All Lies | Kadib Abyad | Asmae El Moudir | Morocco |
| The New Boy (opening) | Warwick Thornton | Australia | |
| Past Lives | Celine Song | United States | |
| Scrapper | Charlotte Regan | United Kingdom | |
- Highlighted title indicates Sydney Film Prize winner.
Special Presentations
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajoomma | He Shuming | Singapore, South Korea | |
| Asteroid City | Wes Anderson | United States | |
| Biosphere | Mel Eslyn | United States | |
| Kennedy | Anurag Kashyap | India | |
| L'immensità | Emanuele Crialese | Italy, France | |
| Lost in the Night | Perdidos en la noche | Amat Escalante | Mexico |
| Passages | Ira Sachs | France | |
| Perfect Days | Wim Wenders | Japan, Germany | |
| Pictures of Ghosts | Retratos Fantasmas | Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil |
| Rachel's Farm | Rachel Ward | Australia | |
| Radical | Christopher Zalla | Mexico, United States | |
| Reality | Tina Satter | United States | |
| Red, White & Brass | Damon Fepulea'i | New Zealand | |
| Shortcomings | Randall Park | United States | |
Documentary Australia Award
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| The Cape | Michael Ware, Justine A. Rosenthal | |
| The Carnival | Isabel Darling | |
| Climate Changers | Johan Gabrielsson | |
| The Defenders | Matthew Bate | |
| Dipped in Black | Marungka Tjalatjunu | Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch |
| Keeping Hope | Tyson Mowarin | |
| Kindred | Adrian Russell Wills, Gillian Moody | |
| The Last Daughter | Brenda Matthews, Nathaniel Schmidt | |
| Man on Earth | Amiel Courtin-Wilson | |
| Rachel's Farm | Rachel Ward | |
Features
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20,000 Species of Bees | 20.000 Especies de Abjeas | Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren | Spain |
| Autobiography | Makbul Mubarak | Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland, Philippines, Germany, Qatar | |
| Beyond the Wall | شب، داخلی، دیوار | Vahid Jalilvand | Iran |
| The Big Dog | Dane McCusker | Australia | |
| Birdeater | Jack Clark, Jim Weir | Australia | |
| Blue Jean | Georgia Oakley | United Kingdom | |
| The Burdened | المرهقون | Amr Gamal | Yemen |
| Carmen | Benjamin Millepied | Australia, France | |
| Chevalier | Stephen Williams | United States | |
| A Couple | Un couple | Frederick Wiseman | France, United States |
| The Delinquents | Los Delicuentes | Rodrigo Moreno | Argentina, Luxembourg, Chile, Brazil |
| A Gaza Weekend | Basil Khalil | Palestine, United Kingdom | |
| The Happiest Man in the World | NajsreЌniot čovek na svetot | Teona Strugar Mitevska | North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Heroic | Heroico | David Zonana | Mexico, Sweden |
| How to Blow Up a Pipeline | Daniel Goldhaber | United States | |
| I Like Movies | Chandler Levack | Canada | |
| The Lesson | Alice Troughton | United Kingdom, Germany | |
| Love Road | Ulysses Oliver | Australia | |
| Midwives | Sages-Femmes | Léa Fehner | France |
| Munnel | மணல் | Visakesa Chandrasekaram | Sri Lanka |
| Music | Angela Schanelec | Germany, France, Serbia | |
| No Bears | خرس نیست | Jafar Panahi | Iran |
| Omen | Augure | Baloji | Belgium, France, Netherlands, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Germany |
| Piaffe | Ann Oren | Germany | |
| Pretty Red Dress | Dionne Edwards | United Kingdom | |
| Rhinegold | Rheingold | Fatih Akin | Germany, Netherlands, Morocco, Mexico |
| Riceboy Sleeps | Anthony Shim | Canada | |
| Run Rabbit Run | Daina Reid | Australia | |
| The Shadowless Tower | 白塔之光 | Zhang Lü | China |
| Shin Ultraman | Shinji Higuchi | Japan | |
| Silver Haze | Sacha Polak | Netherlands, United Kingdom | |
| Sira | Apolline Traoré | Burkina Faso, France, Germany, Senegal | |
| Slow | Tu man nieko neprimeni | Marija Kavtaradzė | Lithuania, Spain, Sweden |
| Snow and the Bear | Kar ve Ayı | Selcen Ergun | Turkey, Germany, Serbia |
| Sorcery | Brujeria | Christopher Murray | Chile, Mexico, Germany |
| Subtraction | تفریق | Mani Haghighi | Iran, France |
| Sunflower | Gabriel Carrubba | Australia | |
| Tennessine | Amin Palangi | Australia | |
| A Thousand and One | A. V. Rockwell | United States | |
| Tora's Husband | Rima Das | India | |
| When the Waves Are Gone | Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon | Lav Diaz | Philippines, France, Portugal, Denmark |
| A Wild Roomer | 괴인 | Lee Jeong-hong | South Korea |
| The Winter Within | Maagh | Aamir Bashir | India, France, Qatar |
| World War III | جنگ جهانی سوم | Houman Seyyedi | Iran |
International Documentaries
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against the Tide | Sarvnik Kaur | India, France | |
| The Arc of Oblivion | Ian Cheney | United States | |
| Between Revolutions | Între revoluții | Vlad Petri | Romania, Croatia, Qatar, Iran |
| Beyond Utopia | Madeleine Gavin | United States | |
| Blue Bag Life | Rebecca Lloyd-Evans, Lisa Selby, Alex Fry | United Kingdom | |
| Bobi Wine: The People's President | Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo | Uganda, United Kingdom, United States | |
| Cannes Uncut | Roger Penny, Richard Blanshard | United Kingdom | |
| A Cooler Climate | James Ivory, Giles Gardner | United Kingdom | |
| The Corridors of Power | Dror Moreh | United States, France, Germany | |
| Dalton's Dream | Kim Longinotto, Franky Murray Brown | United Kingdom | |
| Eastern Front | Shidniy Front | Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Titarenko | Latvia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, United States |
| The Echo | El Eco | Tatiana Huezo | Mexico, Germany |
| The Eternal Memory | La memoria infinita | Maite Alberdi | Chile |
| Fantastic Machine | Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck | Sweden, Denmark | |
| Free Money | Sam Soko, Lauren DeFilippo | Kenya, United States | |
| Freedom Is Beautiful | Angus McDonald | Australia | |
| Joonam | Sierra Urich | United States | |
| Kim's Video | David Redmon, Ashley Sabin | United States, France, United Kingdom | |
| Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV | Amanda Kim | United States, South Korea | |
| On the Adamant | Sur L'Adamant | Nicolas Philibert | France, Japan |
| Orlando, My Political Biography | Orlando, Ma Biographie Politique | Paul B. Preciado | France |
| Paradise | Paradis | Alexander Abaturov | France, Switzerland |
| Pray for Our Sinners | Sinéad O'Shea | Ireland | |
| Queendom | Agniia Galdanova | France, United States | |
| Stephen Curry: Underrated | Peter Nicks | United States | |
| A Storm Foretold | Christoffer Guldbrandsen | Denmark | |
| Subject | Jennifer Tiexiera, Camilla Hall | United States | |
| Total Trust | Jialing Zhang | Germany, Netherlands | |
| Transition | Jordan Bryon, Monica Villamizar | Australia, Iran, Afghanistan | |
| While We Watched | Namaskar! Main Ravish Kumar | Vinay Shukla | United States |
| Who I Am Not | Tünde Skovrán | Romania, Canada | |
First Nations
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dark Emu Story | Allan Clarke | Australia | |
| Gaga | 哈勇家 | Laha Mebow | Taiwan |
| Keeping Hope | Tyson Mowarin | Australia | |
| Kindred | Adrian Russell Wills, Gillian Moody | Australia | |
| The Last Daughter | Brenda Matthews, Nathaniel Schmidt | Australia | |
| The New Boy (opening) | Warwick Thornton | Australia | |
| Twice Colonized | Lin Alluna | Denmark, Canada, Greenland | |
| Short films | |||
| Babanil | Marlikka Perdrisat | Australia | |
| Dipped in Black | Marungka Tjalatjunu | Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch | Australia |
| Kariwa | Kiara Rodriguez-Hextall | Australia | |
| Katele | Mudskipper | John Harvey | Australia |
| Mamirnikuwi | Rebecca Parker | Australia | |
| Power to Country | Josef Jakamarra Egger | Australia | |
| To Be Silent | Tace Stevens | Australia | |
| Where Have All the Mala Gone? | Nyarrpararla Malaju? | Anna-Marie Harding | Australia |
Europe! Voices of Women in Film
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band | Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir | Iceland | |
| Behind the Haystacks | Πίσω από τις θημωνιές | Asimina Proedrou | Greece, Germany, North Macedonia |
| Elaha | Milena Aboyan | Germany | |
| Family Time | Mummola | Tia Kouvo | Finland, Sweden |
| The Girl from Tomorrow | Primadonna | Marta Savina | Italy, France |
| The Quiet Migration | Stille Liv | Malene Choi | Denmark |
| Smoke Sauna Sisterhood | Savvusanna sõsarad | Anna Hints | Estonia, France, Iceland |
| Sunlight | Claire Dix | Ireland | |
| That Afternoon | Die middag | Nafiss Nia | Netherlands |
| Thunder | Foudre | Carmen Jaquier | Switzerland |
Sounds on Screen
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joan Baez: I Am a Noise | Karen O'Connor, Miri Navasky, Maeve O'Boyle | United States | |
| Little Richard: I Am Everything | Lisa Cortés | United States | |
| Pianoforte | Jakub Piątek | Poland | |
| Three Chords and the Truth | Claire Pasvolsky | Australia | |
Late Announce
edit| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute | Justine Triet | France |
| Anselm | Wim Wenders | Germany | |
| Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry | შაშვი შაშვი მაყვალი | Elene Naveriani | Switzerland, Georgia |
| Club Zero | Jessica Hausner | Austria, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Qatar | |
| Four Daughters | بنات ألفة | Kaouther Ben Hania | France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia |
| Inshallah a Boy | Inshallah Walad | Amjad Al Rasheed | Jordan, Qatar, France, Saudi Arabia |
| May December | Todd Haynes | United States | |
| The Persian Version | Maryam Keshavarz | United States | |
| Tiger Stripes | Amanda Nell Eu | Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar | |
| Short films | |||
| Strange Way of Life | Extraña forma de vida | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
Awards
editThe following awards were presented at the festival:[7]
- Sydney Film Prize: The Mother of All Lies by Asmae El Moudir
- Documentary Australia Award for Australian Documentary: Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) by Matthew Thorne and Derik Lynch
- Sustainable Future Award: Against the Tide by Sarvnik Kaur
- Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films
- Dendy Live Action Short Award: The Dancing Girl and the Balloon Man by David Ma
- The Rouben Mamoulian Award: Sophie Somerville for Linda 4 Eva
- Yoram Gross Animation Award: Teacups by Alec Green and Finbar Watson
- AFTRS Craft Award: Kalu Oji, Faro Musodza, and Makwaya Masudi for What's In A Name?
- Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award: Robyn Liu for The Dancing Girl and the Balloon Man
- Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award: Chris Godfrey
- GIO Audience Awards
- Best Australian Documentary: The Defenders by Matthew Bate
- Best Australian Narrative Feature: Birdeater by Jack Clark and Jim Weir
- Best International Documentary: Beyond Utopia by Madeleine Gavin
- Best International Feature: Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
References
edit- ^ "Celebrating 70 years of cinema: the Sydney Film Festival's enduring legacy". University of Sydney. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Le Cross, Alannah (10 May 2023). "Sydney Film Festival 2023 - here's the full program". Time Out. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Frater, Patrick; Tulich, Katherine (7 June 2023). "Warwick Thornton Starts Sydney Film Festival on Emotional High: 'I've Never Felt a Room Like You'". Variety. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Ward, Sarah (24 May 2023). "Sydney Film Festival 2023 Will Close with the Australian Premiere of 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'". Concrete Playground. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Slatter, Sean (19 June 2023). "Asmae El Moudir's 'The Mother of All Lies' awarded Sydney Film Prize". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Sydney Film Festival announces 2023 official competition jury and guest line-up". Filmink. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Sydney Film Festival winners announced". Screenhub. 19 June 2023. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.