2024 film festival
| Opening film | Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line by Paul Clarke |
|---|---|
| Closing film | The Substance by Coralie Fargeat |
| Location | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Festival date | 5–16 June 2024 |
| Website | sff |
| Sydney Film Festival | |
| 72nd 69th | |
The 71st annual Sydney Film Festival was held from 5 to 16 June 2024. The festival opened with Paul Clarke's documentary film Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, and closed with Coralie Fargeat's horror film The Substance.
Overall the festival screened 197 films, including 28 world premieres and 133 Australian premieres.
Juries
The Sydney Film Prize jury was headed by Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanović.
Official Selection
In competition
The following films were selected for the main international competition:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| All We Imagine as Light | Payal Kapadia | France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg | |
| Dying | Sterben | Matthias Glasner | Germany |
| Grand Tour | Miguel Gomes | Portugal, France, Italy | |
| Kinds of Kindness | Yorgos Lanthimos | Ireland, United Kingdom, United States | |
| Kneecap | Rich Peppiatt | Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| Marcello Mio | Christophe Honoré | France, Italy | |
| Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line | Paul Clarke | Australia | |
| Puan | María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat | Argentina, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil | |
| September Says | Ariane Labed | France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| Sujo | Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez | Mexico, United States, France | |
| There's Still Tomorrow | C'è ancora domani | Paola Cortellesi | Italy |
| Viet and Nam | Trong lòng đất | Minh Quý Trương | Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, France, Netherlands |
- Highlighted title indicates Sydney Film Prize winner.
Special Presentations
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bikeriders | Jeff Nichols | United States | |
| The Convert | Lee Tamahori | Australia, New Zealand | |
| Dahomey | Mati Diop | France, Senegal, Benin | |
| The Dead Don't Hurt | Viggo Mortensen | Canada, Denmark, Mexico | |
| Despicable Me 4 | Chris Renaud | United States | |
| A Different Man | Aaron Schimberg | United States | |
| Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Poland, Czechia, France, Belgium |
| Kid Snow | Paul Goldman | Australia | |
| Lee | Ellen Kuras | United Kingdom | |
| The Monk and the Gun | Pawo Choyning Dorji | Bhutan, Taiwan, France, United States, Hong Kong | |
| My Old Ass | Megan Park | United States | |
| The Outrun | Nora Fingscheidt | United Kingdom, Germany | |
| The Pool | Ian Darling | Australia | |
| Porcelain War | Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev | United States, Ukraine, Australia | |
| Touch | Snerting | Baltasar Kormákur | Iceland, United Kingdom |
Documentary Australia Award
| English title | Original title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Aquarius | Wendy Champagne | |
| The Blind Sea | Daniel Fenech | |
| Dale Frank: Nobody's Sweetie | Jenny Hicks | |
| Every Little Thing | Sally Aitken | |
| Mozart's Sister | Madeleine Hetherton-Miau | |
| Otto by Otto | Gracie Otto | |
| Skategoat | Van Alpert | |
| Welcome to Babel | James Bradley | |
| Welcome to Yiddishland | Ros Horin | |
| You Should Have Been Here Yesterday | Jolyon Hoff | |
Features
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| About Dry Grasses | Kuru Otlar Üstüne | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey, France, Germany, Sweden |
| Achilles | Farhad Delaram | Iran, Germany, France | |
| Alienoid | Oegye+in 1bu | Choi Dong-hoon | South Korea |
| Alienoid: Return to the Future | Euigye+in 2-bu | Choi Dong-hoon | South Korea |
| All Shall Be Well | 從今以後 | Ray Yeung | Hong Kong |
| Armand | Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel | Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden | |
| Brief History of a Family | 家庭简史 | Lin Jianjie | China, Denmark |
| City of Wind | Сэр сэр салхи | Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir | France, Mongolia, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar |
| Cottontail | Patrick Dickinson | United Kingdom, Japan | |
| Crossing | Levan Akin | Sweden, Denmark, France, Turkey, Georgia | |
| Daddio | Christy Hall | United States | |
| Death of a Whistleblower | Ian Gabriel | South Africa | |
| Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World | Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii | Radu Jude | Romania |
| Eephus | Carson Lund | United States | |
| Essential Truths of the Lake | Lav Diaz | Philippines | |
| Explanation for Everything | Magyarázat mindenre | Gábor Reisz | Hungary, Slovakia |
| Ezra | Tony Goldwyn | United States | |
| Flathead | Jaydon Martin | Australia | |
| Ghostlight | Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson | United States | |
| He Ain't Heavy | David Vincent Smith | Australia | |
| Hesitation Wound | Tereddüt Çizgisi | Selman Nacar | Turkey, Spain, Romania, France |
| House of the Seasons | Oh Jung-min | South Korea | |
| I Saw the TV Glow | Jane Schoenbrun | United States | |
| In Vitro | Will Howarth, Tom McKeith | Australia | |
| Kneecap | Rich Peppiatt | Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| La cocina | Alonso Ruizpalacios | Mexico, United States | |
| Memory | Michel Franco | United States | |
| The Moon Is Upside Down | Loren Horsley | New Zealand | |
| More Than Strangers | Sylvie Michel | Greece, Germany | |
| Motel Destino | Karim Aïnouz | Brazil, France, Germany | |
| My New Friends | Les gens d’à côté | André Téchiné | France |
| My Sunshine | ぼくのお日さま | Hiroshi Okuyama | Japan |
| One Second Ahead, One Second Behind | Nobuhiro Yamashita | Japan | |
| Paradise | Prasanna Vithanage | Sri Lanka, India | |
| Pepe | Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias | Dominican Republic, Namibia, Germany, France | |
| Problemista | Julio Torres | United States | |
| Rapture | Dominic M. Sangma | India | |
| The Rye Horn | O Corno | Jaione Camborda | Spain, Portugal, Belgium |
| Sasquatch Sunset | David Zellner, Nathan Zellner | United States | |
| Sex | Dag Johan Haugerud | Norway | |
| Shambhala | Min Bahadur Bham | Nepal, France, Norway, Hong Kong, China, Turkey, United States, Qatar, Taiwan | |
| Something Like an Autobiography | Mostofa Sarwar Farooki | Bangladesh | |
| Stress Positions | Theda Hammel | United States | |
| Thelma | Josh Margolin | United States | |
| Toll | Pedágio | Carolina Markowicz | Brazil, Portugal |
| Unicorns | Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd | United Kingdom, United States, Sweden | |
| Veni Vidi Vici | Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann | Austria | |
| Woman Of... | Kobieta z... | Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert | Poland, Sweden |
International Documentaries
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent of Happiness | Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó | Hungary, Bhutan | |
| Among the Wolves | Tanguy Dumortier, Olivier Larrey | France, Belgium | |
| Architecton | Viktor Kossakovsky | Germany, France, United States | |
| Balomania | Sissel Morell Dargis | Denmark, Spain | |
| The Battle for Laikipia | Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi | Kenya, United States, Greece | |
| Black Box Diaries | Shiori Itō | United States, United Kingdom, Japan | |
| Black Snow | Alina Simone | Denmark, United States | |
| The Bones | Jeremy Xido | Canada, Germany | |
| The Cats of Gogoku Shrine | Kazuhiro Soda | Japan, United States | |
| Charmian Clift: Life Burns High | Rachel Lane | Australia | |
| The Contestant | Clair Titley | United Kingdom | |
| Copa 71 | Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine | United States | |
| Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck | United States, France | |
| Federer: Twelve Final Days | Asif Kapadia, Joe Sabia | United Kingdom | |
| The Flats | Alessandra Celesia | France | |
| Flickering Lights | Anupama Srinivasan, Anirban Dutta | India | |
| The Home Game | Heimaleikurinn | Smari Gunn, Logi Sigursveinsson | Iceland |
| A Horse Named Winx | Janine Hosking | Australia | |
| Ibelin | Benjamin Ree | Norway | |
| In the Rearview | Skąd dokąd | Maciek Hamela | Poland, France, Ukraine |
| Life Is Beautiful | Al Haya Helwa | Mohamed Jabaly | Norway, Palestine |
| Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger | David Hinton | United Kingdom, United States | |
| Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros | Frederick Wiseman | France | |
| My Stolen Planet | Farahnaz Sharifi | Germany, Iran | |
| A New Kind of Wilderness | Silje Evensmo Jacobsen | Norway | |
| No Other Land | Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor | Palestine, Norway | |
| Nocturnes | Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan | India, United States | |
| Occupied City | Steve McQueen | United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States | |
| Rewards for the Tribe | Rhys Graham | Australia | |
| Skywalkers: A Love Story | Jeff Zimbalist, >Maria Bukhonina | United States | |
| Sugarcane | Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie | United States, Canada | |
| Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story | Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui | United Kingdom, United States | |
| Wilding | David Allen | United Kingdom | |
Late Announce
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Dog | 狗阵 | Guan Hu | China |
| Caught by the Tides | 风流一代 | Jia Zhangke | China |
| Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck | United States, France | |
| Ghost Trail | Les Fantômes | Jonathan Millet | France, Germany, Belgium |
| The Girl with the Needle | Pigen med nålen | Magnus von Horn | Denmark, Poland, Sweden |
| Megalopolis | Francis Ford Coppola | United States | |
| Rumours | Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson | Canada, Germany | |
| The Seed of the Sacred Fig | دانه انجیر مقدس | Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran, Germany, France |
| The Substance | Coralie Fargeat | United Kingdom, United States, France | |
Freak Me Out
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuckoo | Tilman Singer | Germany, United States | |
| Hear My Eyes: Hellraiser | Clive Barker | United Kingdom, United States | |
| Hunting Daze | Jour de chasse | Annick Blanc | Canada |
| KILL | Nikhil Nagesh Bhat | India | |
| The Moogai | Jon Bell | Australia | |
| The Paragon | Michael Duignan | New Zealand | |
| She Loved Blossoms More | Yannis Veslemes | Greece, France | |
| Wake Up | RKSS | Canada, France | |
First Nations
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Convert | Lee Tamahori | Australia, New Zealand | |
| Ellogierdu: The Tundra Within Me | Sara Margrethe Oskal | Norway | |
| Je'vida | Katja Gauriloff | Finland | |
| Ka Whawhai Tonu | Michael Jonathan | New Zealand | |
| The Moogai | Jon Bell | Australia | |
| The Mountain | Rachel House | New Zealand | |
| We Were Dangerous | Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu | New Zealand, United States | |
Sustainable Future
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Battle for Laikipia | Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi | Kenya, United States, Greece | |
| Black Snow | Alina Simone | Denmark, United States | |
| The Feast | Rishi Chandna | India | |
| Grove of Giants | Bree Sanders | Australia | |
| The Waiting | Volker Schlecht | Germany | |
| Wilding | David Allen | United Kingdom | |
Europe! Voices of Women in Film
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afterwar | Birgitte Stærmose | Denmark | |
| Excursion | Ekskurzija | Una Gunjak | Bosnia |
| Immortals | Maja Tschumi | Switzerland, Iraq | |
| Je'vida | Katja Gauriloff | Finland | |
| The Lost Children | Michèle Jacob | Belgium | |
| A Postcard from Rome | Elza Gauja | Latvia | |
Sounds on Screen
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blur: To the End | Toby L | United Kingdom | |
| Head South | Jonathan Ogilvie | New Zealand | |
| Resonance | Kate Vinen, Jayden Rathsam Hua | Australia | |
Family
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200% Wolf | Alexs Stadermann | Australia | |
| Despicable Me 4 | Chris Renaud | United States | |
| It's Okay! | 괜찮아 괜찮아 괜찮아! | Kim Hye-young | South Korea |
| The Mountain | Rachel House | New Zealand | |
| My Freaky Family | Mark Gravas | Australia, Ireland | |
| The Sloth Lane | Tania Vincent, Ricard Cussó | Australia | |
Nancy Savoca Retrospective
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad Timing | Nancy Savoca | United States | |
| Dogfight | |||
| Household Saints | |||
| Renata | |||
| True Love | |||
Ousmane Sembene Retrospective
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Girl | La noire de... | Ousmane Sembène | Senegal |
| Borom Sarret | |||
| Camp de Thiaroye | |||
| Ceddo | |||
| Emitaï | |||
| Guelwaar | |||
| Mandabi | |||
| Moolaadé | |||
| Niaye | |||
| Tauw | |||
| Xala | |||
Classics Restored
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cars That Ate Paris | Peter Weir | Australia | |
| Mississippi Masala | Mira Nair | United States | |
| Peeping Tom | Michael Powell | United States | |
| Rabbit-Proof Fence | Phillip Noyce | Australia | |
| Ten Canoes | Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr | Australia | |
FLUX
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ballad of Suzanne Cesaire | Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich | United States | |
| Conspiracy | Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, Simone Leigh | United States | |
| The Soldier's Lagoon | La Laguna del Soldado | Pablo Álvarez Mesa | Canada |
| Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat | Johan Grimonprez | Belgium | |
Screenability
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good Bad Things | Shane D. Stranger | United States | |
| Rehabilitating | Inez Playford | Australia | |
| The Ride Ahead | Samuel Habib, Dan Habib | United States | |
| The Stimming Pool | Benjamin Brown, Georgia Bradburn, Sam Chown-Ahern, Robin Elliott-Knowles, Lucy Walker, Steven Eastwood | United Kingdom | |
| Threshold | Sofya Gollan | Australia | |
| Unstoppable | Jack Byrnes, Marcus Porcaro | Australia | |
Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alone | Alex Weight | Australia | |
| Besharam! | Raghav Rampal | ||
| Bong Xi Fa Cai | Johnathan Lo | ||
| Darwin Story | Natasha Tonkin | ||
| Die Bully Die | Nathan Lacey, Nick Lacey | ||
| The Disconnected | Pia Derya | ||
| The Gay | Madeleine Purdy | ||
| The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste | Pernell Marsden | ||
| Say | Chloe Kemp | ||
| This Will Never Last | Julia van Oppen, Katrina Lin, Holly May Fletcher | ||
Shorts airing with features
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dancer | Nomin Gantulga | Australia, Mongolia | |
| Dream Creep | Carlos A.F. Lopez | United States | |
| Earwax | Jasper Martin | Australia | |
| The Feast | Rishi Chandna | India | |
| First Horse | Awanui Simich-Pene | New Zealand | |
| Grove of Giants | Bree Sanders | Australia | |
| It Will Find You | Chris Broadbent, Enzo Tedeschi | Australia | |
| Lullaby | Chi Thai | United Kingdom | |
| Meat Puppet | Eros V | United Kingdom | |
| Mother Tongue | Lea Tupu'anga | Vea Mafile'o | New Zealand |
| Of the Last Reel in Front of You | Yan Geng | Australia | |
| Rehabilitating | Inez Playford | Australia | |
| Tayal Forest Club | Laha Mebow | Taiwan | |
| Threshold | Sofya Gollan | Australia | |
| Transylvanie | Rodrigue Huart | France | |
| Unstoppable | Jack Byrnes, Marcus Porcaro | Australia | |
| The Waiting | Volker Schlecht | Germany | |
| Withered Blossoms | Lionel Seah | Australia | |
Awards
The following awards were presented at the festival:
- Sydney Film Prize: There's Still Tomorrow (C'è ancora domani) — Paola Cortellesi
- Documentary Australia Award for Australian Documentary: Welcome to Babel — James Bradley
- Sustainable Future Award: Black Snow — Alina Simone
- First Nations Award: First Horse — Awanui Simich-Pene
- Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films
- Dendy Live Action Short Award: Die Bully Die — Nathan Lacey, Nick Lacey
- The Rouben Mamoulian Award: The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste — Pernell Marsden
- Yoram Gross Animation Award: Darwin Story — Natasha Tonkin
- AFTRS Craft Award: Say — Chloe Kemp
- Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award: Bridget Morrison, Say
- Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award: Debbie Lee
- GIO Audience Awards
- Best Australian Narrative Feature: The Moogai — Jon Bell
- Best Australian Narrative Feature, Runner Up: In Vitro — Will Howarth, Tom McKeith
- Best Australian Documentary: Skategoat — Van Alpert
- Best Australian Documentary, Runner Up: Every Little Thing — Sally Aitken
- Best International Feature: The Seed of the Sacred Fig — Mohammad Rasoulof
- Best International Feature, Runner Up: Kneecap — Rich Peppiatt
- Best International Documentary: The Home Game (Heimaleikurinn) — Smari Gunn, Logi Sigursveinsson
- Best International Documentary, Runner Up: Porcelain War — Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev
References
- Luke Buckmaster, "From mythic creatures to innovative documentaries: 10 films to see at Sydney film festival 2024". The Guardian, 7 May 2024.
- Patrick Frater, "‘Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line’ Rockumentary to Open Sydney Film Festival". Variety, 23 April 2024.
- Sean Slatter, "Coralie Fargeat’s ‘The Substance’ to close Sydney Film Festival". IF Magazine, 29 May 2024.
- Lars Brandle, "Sydney Film Festival Sets 2024 Program". Variety, 8 May 2024.
- Michael Rosser, "Sydney Film Festival reveals 2024 competition line-up". Screen Daily, 7 May 2024.
- ^ Patrick Frater, "Sydney Film Festival: Italian Box Office Hit ‘There’s Still Tomorrow’ Wins Top Prize". Variety, 17 June 2024.
- ^ "‘The Moogai’, ‘Skategoat’ take home SFF Audience Awards". IF Magazine, 20 June 2024.
External links
| Sydney Film Festival | |
|---|---|
| Sydney Film Prize |