Changes to classification restrictions have made over 50% of the Sydney Film Festival program accessible to audiences 15+ allowing more experiences and discoveries for young film lovers! Film in Revolt will be covering the festival and we asked some of our contributors for their top two picks in the program.
Bill (12)
The two films I’m most excited about at the Sydney Film Festival this year would have to be Big Time and Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World. I think all the international documentaries look really interesting and I can’t wait to see them. I’ve been interested in Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and his work for a while now and seeing a film (Big Time) that includes more of his creative process and personal life would be awesome. The same goes for Rumble, I’m familiar with the music featured and would love to know more about the Native American influence on blues, pop rock and other genres from the 50’s onwards.
Jasper (15)
Vanessa Redgrave is an inspiration and is heralded in the film and theatre industry. It would be brilliant to witness a veteran excel once more in her craft, especially when she is tackling a new area, directing. Redgrave’s directorial debut, Sea Sorrow, looks to be an unparalleled testament of untold truth and needed political heresy, which is why I am desperate to see it.
Ellipsis, directorial debut from David Wenham: Ever since an early age David Wenham has always been an acting idol to me, to witness him behind the camera is equally as inspirational to me as his performances in front of the camera.
Kena (16)
I do not want to miss Sami Blood at the festival because I’ve been waiting until this film in particular comes out. I am learning Swedish and this film is about Sami people’s place in modern day Sweden, Finland and Norway, and it is personally very interesting to me. Also, I’m going to the free talk Conversations with Euro Filmmakers (and they’ll discuss Sami Blood), so the two will go together really well.
The second film is Mifune: The Last Samurai , as I’m also learning Japanese at school, and so this would be an enormously beneficial cultural boost to see this, plus it just generally looks like an awesome doco!
Mischa (15)
I have about 30 film titles on my list that I want to see. My top two out of that 30, I would have to go with two documentaries – Blue directed Karina Holden (from Australia) – it is said to be ‘ invigorating’ and a wake up call to the state of the earths ocean. My other selection includes The Farthest directed by Emer Reynolds (from Ireland) documenting on the mission in 1977 to send two voyagers into the solar system and tracks its journey into space. I feel that both of these documentaries will give me more insight about the things I find intriguing – the ocean and space!
Nick (16)
Song To Song is the new Terrence Malick film (another one of my favourite directors). Even though he’s recently been pretty hit-or-miss, his films are always very patient, poetic and wonderfully shot in natural lighting and settings.
A Ghost Story – The other film that I am excited for; made in secret, and on a micro-budget. From what I can grab from this film’s trailer, and the cheering praise it received at Sundance film festival, this film is about a ghost, and how he continues to watch over his widowed partner, and also jump through time in space in the house that they lived in, learning it’s history. The cinematography looks gorgeous, and the director has stated that he was directly influenced by the Cannes-winning, Uncle Boonmee Can Recall His Past Lives. I’m really interested to see how it turns out.
Tiana (16)
Graduation is a Romanian drama directed by Christian Mungiu (Winner of Best Director prize at Cannes 2016). Depicting a father’s desperate endeavour to protect his daughter in a decaying society dominated by dynamic power structures and corruption, I was interested in the moral questions it raises. Having always been curious about the regressive aspects of our world and the complex dilemmas that drive individuals to commit seemingly unethical acts, Graduation is a film I definitely don’t want to miss. I’m sure Mungui will provide a multi-dimensional and intimate exploration of these concerns and I can’t wait to see it.
My Happy Family is a dramatic yet funny film that centres on a middle-aged woman who decides to move out of her family home and embark on an independent life in the midst of the patriarchal Georgian society. Not the usual type of film I would go for, I was intrigued by the plot and its depiction of gender conventions and the inter-generational dynamics of families.
Sydney Film Festival
June 7 – 18 June 2017