The 65th Sydney Film Festival program has been launched by the NSW Minister for the Arts Don Harwin.
“The NSW Government is delighted to support the 2018 Sydney Film Festival, Sydney’s strength as a centre for filmmaking, and our passion for film culture is what drives our city’s status as one of only 13 UNESCO Cities of Film in the world,” Mr Harwin said.
“Since 1954, the Sydney Film Festival has brought over 9,000 of the best films from around the globe to Australian audiences; a canon we are proud to expand on 65 years later,” said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley.
“Over the years, much has changed in cinema, and indeed the world. What remains constant is the need for understanding. In an increasingly fragmented society, the Festival continues to unite friends and strangers, creating new experiences and ways to interpret the wider world.”
Sydney Film Festival has gone from strength to strength in recent years: since 2011 attendance has increased by 72% to 185,000 filmgoers. In 2018 the Festival will present 326 films from 65 countries including 21 World Premieres, bringing together hundreds of international and local stories.
Opening and Closing Nights
The 2018 Festival opens with the Australian premiere of The Breaker Upperers, a side-splittingly funny New Zealand film from writers-directors-stars Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami. The comedy follows two cynical misfits earning a living breaking up unhappy couples for cash by faking deaths, impersonating cops and strippers, and feigning pregnancies. Rising stars Van Beek and Sami will be joined by Australian actress Celia Pacquola to present their Opening Night film. Van Beek and Sami will also be part of a Meet the Filmmakers talk at The Festival Hub (Saturday, 9 June, 4:00pm).
Closing the Festival is heart-warming indie comedy Hearts Beat Loud, starring Golden Globe winning Australian actress Toni Colette and Parks and Recreation’s Nick Offerman, about an ageing hipster dad forming an unlikely band with his reluctant, talented daughter played by Kiersey Clemons.
The Program
The Festival’s diverse film program promises cinematic treasures to be discovered every day. From the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary, showcasing 10 exceptional Australian documentaries; to 15 big-ticket films in Special Presentations at The State.
There are also 120 feature films, including prize-winners from prestigious festivals around the world; and 57 documentaries tackling crucial contemporary issues, from the world’s most renowned documentarians. Further program details can be found here.
