Sydney Film Festival is proud to announce this year’s internationally acclaimed award-winning jury, featuring Jury President Hugo Weaving and international filmmakers Anand Gandhi (India) and Pia Marais (Sweden/South Africa), film critic and curator Paolo Bertolin (Italy) and Australian producer Kath Shelper.
The Official Competition was established in 2008 and endorsed by Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films (the regulating organisation for international film festivals). Twelve feature films are selected for Official Competition on the basis that they demonstrate “emotional power and resonance; are audacious, cutting-edge, courageous; and go beyond the usual treatment of the subject matter.”
The jury awards a cash prize of $60,000, presented at SFF’s Closing Night ceremony on Sunday 16 June.
One of the best things about the Official Competition is the number of guest filmmakers in attendance. The majority of films in the Competition will feature the directors, and in many cases other crew and talent, appearing to introduce their films and answer audience questions afterwards.
It’s another valuable opportunity for Sydney’s cinema lovers to encounter world-class filmmakers in candid settings. Competition guests slated to attend include Wadjda director (and Sydney Uni graduate) Haifaa Al Mansour; Stories We Tell director Sarah Polley (whose Take This Waltz was an indie hit worldwide); Romanian director Călin Peter Netzer, who won the Golden Bear with Competition film Child’s Pose; and many of the cast and crew of The Rocket (pictured), Kim Mourdant’s Australian-produced, Laos-set coming-of-age drama, winner of top prizes at both Tribeca and the Berlinale.
Check out all twelve competition films and buy tickets here http://sff.org.au/public/films/program/official-competition/
