57th Annual Sydney Film Festival “Unleashes 2010”

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 15 June 2010 08:37

Written by Carmella McDonald

The 57th annual edition of the Sydney Film Festival, subtitled, Unleashes 2010, is running from June 2 to 14, 2010, in Sydney, Australia. This year’s program includes 157 films from 47 countries --  all winning films from International film festivals. There are 92 Australian premieres, eight new Australian feature films, seven World premieres, two international premiers, nine documentaries and 12 shorts. The festival ends on the long weekend for The Queens Birthday, June 14th, 2010, a public holiday. The venues include: The State Theatre, the Sydney Opera House, Dendy Opera Quays Cinema at Sydney Cove, and the NSW Art Gallery.

Enchanting audiences since 1929, The State Theatre -- “The Palace of Dreams” -- seats 2000 and is in a truly magnificent and heritage listed building with eclectic elements of Gothic, Italian and Art deco design.

The Dress Circle Gallery houses artworks by Australian artists including William Dobell and Charles Wheeler and while located in an auditorium, the Koh-I-Nor cut crystal chandelier is the second largest on earth; on the stage, the 21 piped Wurlitzer organ -- which is used for the “Silent Screen Retrospectives” during the Film Festival -- makes for a unique venue to visit even when it's not showing such compelling fare.

Australian actors and filmmakers feature prominently in this year's Film Festival, while movies directed by women open and close the event.  
Australia's father-daughter acting duo Barry and Miranda Otto will headline the festival's opening night on June 2, with the world premiere of Shirley Barrett's South Solitary. Barrett’s distinctive filmmaking is underpinned by elegant storytelling and an intoxicating, playful tone.


Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, who starred in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, will appear with Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in the closing night film The Kids Are All Right directed by Lisa Cholodenko, on June 14.

Director Julie Bertucelli’s (Since Otar Left) lucid, deeply poetic Australian/French co-production The Tree, translates a bold concept into a thoroughly believable realm. After the sudden death of her father, 8-year-old Simone shares a secret with her mother Dawn (the luminous Charlotte Gainsbourg). She’s convinced her father whispers to her through the leaves of her favorite tree and he’s come back to protect them.

The festival, bracketed by films directed by women, is also enhanced by the high caliber offering of Australian films. There are screenings of three exceptionally inventive films including Patrick Hughes' western-police thriller Red Hill which stars Aussie actor Ryan Kwanten, who has found international fame with the HBO vampire series True Blood.

 The festival will also offer the Australian premieres of Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer featuring actor Ewan McGregor, The Runaways starring Kristen Stewart and Mammuth with Gerard Depardieu.


Featured in this year’s Official Competition line-up include:

• Three films from 2010 Cannes Film Festival – including Cannes Closing Night film Julie Bertucelli’s Australian/French o-production, The Tree, along with Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (screening in Cannes Official Competition) and Canadian Xavier Dolan’s Heartbeats (screening in Un Certain Regard)

• The World Premiere of Ben C Lucas’ explosive debut feature Wasted on the Young.

• Australian Premieres of films by renowned directors – including Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me, Todd Solondz’s Life During Wartime, Brillante Mendoza’s Lola and celebrated Iranian artist Shirin Neshat’s Women Without Men

• Chris Morris’ outrageous comedy Four Lions and Raoul Peck’s searing Haitian satire Moloch Tropical

• Berlin Film Festival winners from Russia, How I Ended this Summer and Romania, If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle

Other program elements include:

SFF Sydney Opera House – “Sounds on Screen”
The Playhouse at Sydney Opera House, will be home to Sounds on Screen, a celebration of the special relationship between film and music,  screenings of Rocksteady: the Roots of Reggae followed by live performance by King Tide.  

Vivid LIVE will be in the concert hall performing live is Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed and the Blind Boys of Alabama. Reed’s short film, Day for Night, will be in the Movie Marathon, eight epic hours of film, live music and spoken word renowned filmmaker and artist Bill Morrison. Anderson will be illuminating the sails of the Opera House and introducing her Music for Dogs for “SFF Unleashes 2010”.

A special Vampire Retrospective
A selection of films from SFF’s special vampire retrospective will also screen at Sydney Opera House including:

• The return of Nosferatu with live accompaniment by Darth Vegas and live sound effects by Miss Death
• Australia’s only postmodern vampire movie, Thirst
• Guy Maddin’s vampire ballet, Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary
• Immortal Seduction
• Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark
• Roman Polanski’s Dance of the Vampires, his preferred UK version of the film that was released elsewhere as The Fearless Vampire Killers, Or Pardon Me But Your Teeth Are in My Neck

Kids Flicks
The fest presents a selection of fun and fabulous films for the family:

• See galactic escapades in Welcome to the Space Show
• journey into a magical world of goblins and fallen angels in Yona Yona Penguin
• discover amazing true-life adventure in Turtle: The Incredible Journey

The United States Studies Centre has partnered with the SFF  to support Judith Erhlich and Rick Goldsmith's The Most Dangerous Man In America.

Set in a majestic city with venues at the Sydney Opera House, this festival is an absolute feast of film and festivities. 

Tickets can be purchased for single screenings or through flexipass. 

For more information and other award winners visit www.sff.org.au   

The 57th Annual Sydney Film Festival
June 2 – 14, 2010

State Theatre
49 Market Street
Sydney New South Wales 2000, Australia
(02) 9373 6655
www.statetheatre.com.au

Sydney Opera House
Macquarie St.
Sydney New South Wales 2000, Australia
02-9250 7111
www.sydneyoperahouse.com

Dendy Opera Quays Cinema
2 East Circular Quay
Sydney New South Wales 2000
61 2 9247 3800

NSW Art Gallery
Art Gallery Road
The Domain
Sydney New South Wales 2000 Australia
Australia-wide toll-free number: 1-800-NSW-ART (1-800-679-278)
61 2 9225 1744
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

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