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The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive
film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
held in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley.


History

Influenced by the experience of Australian film makers with the
Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all t ...
since 1947 and the festival connected with the annual meeting of the Australian Council of Film Societies held at
Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state capital. It has a population of 393,115 people, covers ...
in the
Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathe ...
, Victoria in 1952, later
Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fes ...
, a committee sprang from the Film Users Association of New South Wales to establish a film festival in Sydney. The committee included Alan Stout, Professor of Philosophy at
The University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...
, filmmakers John Heyer and John Kingsford Smith, and Federation of Film Societies secretary David Donaldson. 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. 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. Censorship difficulties arose in the mid-1960s and continued until such time as the festival was granted exemption from censorship in 1971.Webber (2005), p. 9 From inception until 1967, the University remained the annual home of the festival. The following year, the festival moved to the Wintergarden in Rose Bay where it remained for the ensuing five years. The historic State Theatre became the home of the festival in 1974, and remains one of the festival venues to date. In 2007, the festival introduced a series of live gigs, shows and cabaret-style screening at the nearby Metro Theatre. Owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 January ...
, 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.


Description

The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre, and includes
features Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software ite ...
, documentaries,
short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, retrospectives, films for families and animations. Films are shown at venues across the
Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referr ...
, with films shown at the Dendy Opera Quays, Event Cinemas in George Street, the
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...
, Sydney Town Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art as well as the State Theatre. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley, who commenced in early 2012, replacing Clare Stewart. Patrons of the festival include
Gillian Armstrong Gillian May Armstrong (born 18 December 1950) is an Australian feature film and documentary director, who specializes in period drama. Her films often feature female perspectives and protagonists. Many of her movies are historical dramas. E ...
,
Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...
,
Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...
,
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...
,
Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...
, George Miller, and
Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
among others.


Competition and film prizes

Although a small number of prizes existed from the mid–1980s, prior to 2007, the Sydney Film Festival was classified by the
International Federation of Film Producers Associations The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; en, International Federation of Film Producers Associations), created in 1933, is an organization composed with 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audio ...
(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. Members of the audience are able to vote for popular awards, as well as specific industry prizes awarded in the following categories (): * Sydney Film Prize, worth *Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award: cash prize *Documentary Australia Award for Australian documentary: cash prize *
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York St ...
Fellowship for First Nations Film Creatives: grant *Sustainable Future Award: cash prize *Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films: **Dendy Live Action Short Award: cash prize **Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director (named after Armenian-American film and theatre director
Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. ...
: cash prize **Yoram Gross Animation Award: cash prize **
AFTRS The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...
Craft Award: cash prize *Audience awards (announced in the week after the festival): **Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature **Audience Award for Best Documentary Past awards have included: * The CRC Award for Best Australian Feature-length Film with a Multicultural Perspective (presently sponsored by the Community Relations Commission For a Multicultural NSW) – established in 1992 * Peter Rasmussen Innovation Award – established in 2009


Winners of the Sydney Film Prize


Festival directors

* David Donaldson (1954–1957) * Valwyn Edwards (1958)Webber (2005), p. 7 *
Sylvia Lawson Sylvia Lawson (12 November 1932 – 6 November 2017) was a journalist, academic and author, known for her support for cinema in Australia through her work with the Sydney Film Festival from its inception in 1954. She wrote ''The Archibald Paradox ...
and Robert Connell (1959) * Lois Hunter (1960) * Patricia Moore (1961)Webber (2005), p. 8 * Ian Klava (1962–1965) – Inaugural full-time paid director *
David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...
(1966–1983)Webber (2005), p. 11 * Rod Webb(1984–1988) * Paul Byrnes (1989–1998) * Gayle Lake (1999–2004) * Lynden Barber (2005–2006) * Clare Stewart (2007–2011) * Nashen Moodley (2012–present)


See also

*
Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival Message Sticks Festival, also known for some time as Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, was an arts festival celebrating the culture of Aboriginal Australians, based at the Sydney Opera House, between 1999 and 2013. It focused on film for ...


Bibliography

* *


References


External links


Official Site
{{Authority control Film festivals established in 1954
Film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
1954 establishments in Australia