Sydney Film Festival
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox film festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize.
Template:As of, the festival's director is Nashen Moodley.<ref name="sff2023">Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Influenced by the experience of Australian film makers with the Edinburgh Film Festival since 1947 and the festival connected with the annual meeting of the Australian Council of Film Societies held at Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria in 1952, later Melbourne International Film Festival, 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, filmmakers John Heyer and John Kingsford Smith, and Federation of Film Societies secretary David Donaldson.<ref name="Kaufman">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="Kaufman"/>
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.<ref name=Webber-p7/> Censorship difficulties arose in the mid-1960s and continued until such time as the festival was granted exemption from censorship in 1971.<ref name=Webber-p9>Webber (2005), p. 9</ref>
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,<ref name="Kaufman"/> and remains one of the festival venues to date.<ref name="state">Template:Cite web</ref> 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 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Description
The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre, and includes features, documentaries, short films, retrospectives, films for families and animations. Films are shown at venues across the Sydney CBD, with films shown at the Dendy Opera Quays, Event Cinemas in George Street, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Ritz Cinemas, Sydney Town Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art as well as the State Theatre.Template:Cn
Template:As of the festival's director is Nashen Moodley,<ref name="sff2023"/><ref name=abc2021>Template:Cite web</ref> who commenced in early 2012, replacing Clare Stewart.<ref name="SMH-2011-12-18">Template:Cite news</ref>
Patrons of the festival include Gillian Armstrong, Cate Blanchett, Jane Campion, Nicole Kidman, Baz Luhrmann, George Miller, and Sam Neill among others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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 (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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:As of the total prize pool was worth Template:AUD. Prizes were awarded in the following categories:<ref name=awards2024>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Sydney Film Prize (awarded to the most "audacious, cutting-edge, and courageous" film in the Official Competition; endorsed by FIAPF): Template:AUD cash prize
- Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award (for a filmmaker based in New South Wales "whose work stands for innovation, imagination and high impact"): Template:AUD cash prize
- Documentary Australia Award for Australian documentary: Template:AUD cash prize
- Sustainable Future Award: Template:AUD cash prize
- First Nations Award, supported by Truant Pictures (new in 2024; the largest cash prize for Indigenous filmmaking in the world, open to First Nations filmmakers from around the globe): Template:AUD
- Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films:
- Dendy Live Action Short Award: Template:AUD cash prize
- Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director (named after Armenian-American film and theatre director Rouben Mamoulian,<ref name=sff2011-news3>Template:Cite web</ref> who first presented the award in 1974): Template:AUD cash prize
- Yoram Gross Animation Award (sponsored by Sandra and Guy Gross in honour of Yoram Gross): Template:AUD cash prize<ref name=awards2024/>
- AFTRS Craft Award: Template:AUD cash prize
- Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award
- GIO Audience awards (announced in the week after the festival):<ref name=awards2024/>
- Audience Award for Best Australian Feature
- Audience Award for Best Documentary
- Audience Award for Best International Feature
- Audience Award for Best International 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<ref name=sff2011-news3/>
- Peter Rasmussen Innovation Award – established in 2009<ref name=sff2011-news4>Template:Cite web</ref>
Winners of the Sydney Film Prize
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Festival directors
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- David Donaldson (1954–1957)<ref name="Kaufman"/>
- Valwyn Edwards (1958)<ref name=Webber-p7>Webber (2005), p. 7</ref>
- Sylvia Lawson and Robert Connell (1959)<ref name=Webber-p7/>
- Lois Hunter (1960)<ref name=Webber-p7/>
- Patricia Moore (1961)<ref name=Webber-p8>Webber (2005), p. 8</ref>
- Ian Klava (1962–1965) – Inaugural full-time paid director<ref name=Webber-p8/>
- David Stratton (1966–1983)<ref name=Webber-p8/><ref name=Webber-p11>Webber (2005), p. 11</ref>
- Rod Webb (1984–1988)
- Paul Byrnes (1989–1998)
- Gayle Lake (1999–2004)
- Lynden Barber (2005–2006)
- Clare Stewart (2007–2011)<ref name="SMH-2011-05-25">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Nashen Moodley (2012–present)<ref name="SMH-2011-12-18"/>
See also
Bibliography
References
External links
Template:Sydney Film Festival Template:Film festivals Template:Sydney events