Sydney Film Festival Unveils Bumper Lineup for 70th Edition

Warwick Thorntons The New Boy has been set as the opening title of next months Sydney Film Festival, which will celebrate its 70th edition, June 7-18. The film, a tale of sprituality and survival in 1940s Australia, starring Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair and Aswan Reid, will also play in the festivals competition section.

Other titles in competition include: the world premiere of Australian documentary feature The Dark Emu Story, directed by Allan Clarke; Christian Petzolds previously announced Afire Charlotte Regans Sundance Grand Jury Prize winnerScrapper Kore-eda Hirokazus Monster Aki Kaurismkis compassionate comedyFallen Leaves Kim Jee-woons Cobweb Asmae El MoudirsThe Mother of All Lies Alice Englerts directorial debutBad Behaviour Celine Songs Sundance and Berlinale 2023 selected romance Past Lives Liu Jians 2023 Berlinale-selected animationArt College 1994 Devashish MakhijasJoram,a thriller about an on the run laborer in Mumbai.

Competition winners will be announced on the closing night on June 18.

In total the festival will play 90 narrative features and 54 documentaries.

Ten documentaries will contest the 2023 Documentary Australia Award. They include world premieres of: The DefendersThe Cape, by Michael Ware; and Isabel DarlingsThe Carnival. Other contenders include: Tim Flannerys Climate Changers Indigenous actor Mark Coles Smiths Keeping Hope Kindred by Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills; the previously-announced Rachels Farm Amiel Courtin-WilsonsMan on EarthandThe Last Daughter.

A special presentations section hosts a collection of films having their debut in Cannes in May. They include: Wes AndersonsAsteroid City Anurag Kashyaps noirish thrillerKennedy Wim Wenders Japan-setPerfect Days Amat Escalantes Mexican thrillerLost in the Night andKleber Mendona Filhos love story Pictures of Ghosts.

Stories from Asia include the kaiju filmShin Ultraman Zhang Lus dramedyThe Shadowless Tower Rima Dass dramaToras Husband Aamir BashirsThe Winter Within Jafar Panahis previously-announcedNo Bears dramaSand and He ShumingsAjoomma.

TheFreak Me Outsection, curated by Variety reviewerRichard Kuipers, includes: Late Night With the Devil, a documentary-style horror;The Wrath of Becky, whichsees a 16-year-old waitress take spectacularly bloody revenge on right-wing misogynist scumbags;Raging Race,in which a Filipino single mother become the housekeeper at a creepy British mansion; revenge thriller Sisu andSitges prize-winner Nightsiren. It also includes a Korean double-bill Jude Chuns sci-fiUnidentifiedand Park Sye-youngs bizarre body horrorThe Fifth Thoracic Vertebra.

A film festival is a gathering of diverse perspectives that offers a collective snapshot of the global zeitgeist, allowing us to delve deeper into our present reality, saidSydney Film Festival director Nashen Moodley. For 70 years, Sydney Film Festival has been privileged to capture and embody these moments, presenting a rich tapestry of stories that reflect our shared desire to understand the world we live in.

The festival will also showcase a tribute to Jane Campion that includes all nine of the features that she directed and Julie Bertuccellis biographical Jane Campion, Cinema Woman.

After Indian screen legend Amitabh Bachchans 80th birthday last year, Sydney will present four of his restores classics: Deewaar,Amar Akbar Anthony,DonandKaala Patthar.

Other highlights scattered across the sections include: 20,000 Species of Bees, which earned a Silver Bear in Berlin for Sofia Otero; Autobiography, the first feature from Indonesian filmmaker Makbul Mubarak; Lee Jeong-hongsA Wild Roomer, whichwon the New Currents competition and the NETPAC Award at Busan; Riceboy Sleeps,Anthony Shims semi-autobiographical drama that has won more than 20 international awards; World War III,following a filmset laborers unexpected rise to stardom; Bobi Wine: The Peoples President,documenting a Ugandan musician-turned-politicians campaign against dictatorship; Berlinale Golden Bear winnerOn the Adamant,by Nicolas Philibert; and the Sarah Snook-starring Run Rabbit Run.

The festival also finds room for the first two episodes of new Australian series,Bay of Fires,a darkly comic crime story starring Marta Dusseldorp, as a mother forced to flee her city life and find refuge in the wilds of Tasmania.