From fresh comedies like Audrey to surprising horrors like Salt Along The Tongue, these ten Australian films showing at the SXSW Sydney screen festival – which takes place this month – are essential watches for all viewers.
Add these ten flicks to your Letterboxd watchlist, then head to SXSW Sydney to find out more.
All the Australian films playing at SXSW Sydney:
A Grand Mockery
World Premiere
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Classification: CTC
Director: Sam Dixon, Adam C. Briggs
Stars: Kate Dillon, Sam Dixon, Fiarrah Poole
Synopsis: Josie leads a life of passive mundane displeasure before his psychic ills deform him and sees him roaming the rainforest hinterlands of Queensland. A Grand Mockery is simultaneously singular and a flashback to underground filmmaking before it became codified. Filmed on soft luminous super-8, tonally playful and structured as a diptych, A Grand Mockery begins as a work of morbid comic realism before the film transforms along with Josie.
Andamooka
Genre: Drama
Run time: 1 hour, 22 minutes
Classification: CTC
Director: Mara Jean Quinn, Danni Oglivie
Stars: Mara Jean Quinn, Georgina Neave, Pirate Nicholas Rossiter
Synopsis: Andamooka tells the story of a young woman named Alex whose life falls apart in the city just before her thirtieth. She decides to drive to the Australian desert to spend her birthday with her best friend in the tiny opal mining town of Andamooka. Along the way she meets all sorts of characters, encounters Aboriginal culture and has to face her inner struggles.
Audrey
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Classification: CTC
Director: Natalie Bailey
Stars: Jackie van Beek, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Hanna Diviney
Synopsis: Self-appointed Mother of the Year, Ronnie, has given her daughter, Audrey, everything, so when Audrey selfishly falls into a coma, Ronnie has no choice but to keep their dreams alive by assuming her identity.
Carnage for Christmas
Australian Premiere
Genre: Horror
Run time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Classification: CTC (18+)
Director: Alicia Maio Mackay
Stars: Jeremy Moineau, Dominique Booth
Synopsis: When true-crime podcaster and sleuth Lola visits her hometown at Christmas for the first time since running away and transitioning, the vengeful ghost of a historical murderer and urban legend seemingly arises to kill again. Lola must solve the case before her community is slaughtered. She’s up against not only a psychotic killer, but a town haunted by secrets.
Future Council
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Classification: CTC
Director: Damon Gameau
Stars: Damon Gameau
Synopsis: Damon Gameau takes eight kids on the ultimate school excursion: a road trip across Europe to seek solutions to the climate crisis.
Inside
Genre: Drama
Run time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
Classification: MA
Director: Charles Williams
Stars: Guy Pearce, Vincent Miller, Cosmo Jarvis
Synopsis: After being transferred from juvenile to adult prison, Mel Blight (Vincent Miller) is taken under the wing of both Mark Shepard (Cosmo Jarvis), Australia’s most despised criminal, and Warren Murfett (Guy Pearce), a soon-to-be-a-paroled inmate. As a paternal triangle grows between them, we see that even the worst of men have a little bit of good inside that will be their undoing.
Like My Brother
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Classification: CTC
Director: Sal Balharrie and Danielle MacLean
Stars: Jessica Stassi, Freda Puruntatameri
Synopsis: This coming-of-age story follows Rina, Freda, Juliana and Jess on their journey from the remote Tiwi Islands to Melbourne and back again as they dare to dream, taking up opportunities, to play football at an elite level. Each girl has unique desires – to have fun, to be a leader, to be a teacher, to make a father proud.
Queens of Concrete
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1 hour, 27 minutes
Classification: CTC
Director: Eliza Cox
Stars: Hayley Wilson, Ava Godfrey, Charlotte Heath
Synopsis: Big dreams wrestle bitter truths as three teenage girls pursue Olympic history. Shot over seven years, this coming-of-age documentary chronicles the journey from childhood to adulthood and the moments that define us.
Salt Along The Tongue
Australian Premiere
Genre: Horror
Run time: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Classification: CTC (18+)
Director: Parish Malfitano
Stars: Dina Panozzo, Laneikka Denne
Synopsis: After her mother’s unexpected passing, Mattia finds herself thrust into the care of her estranged aunt and her mother’s identical twin. As Mattia grapples with the loss of her mother, a treacherous secret begins to unfold, threatening her life. From beyond the grave, Mattia’s mother possesses her daughter in an attempt not only to protect her from the same fate that befell her but also to find reconciliation with her sister, using food as a gateway.
Hard-Ons: The Most Australian Band Ever!
Australian Premiere
Genre: Music Documentary
Run time: 1 hour, 46 minutes
Classification: CTC
Director: Jonathan J. Sequeira
Stars: Henry Rollins, Angry Anderson, Tim Rogers
Synopsis: Three ethnic school kids from Sydney’s western suburbs form a punk band in the 80s. The Hard-Ons fight racism, the music industry and the rise of grunge with their pop punk noise, irreverent humour and absolute commitment to just being themselves.
SXSW Sydney takes place from 14-20 October 2024. Visit the SXSW Sydney website for more info.
