The 71st annual Sydney Film Festival was held from 5 to 16 June 2024.[1] The festival opened with Paul Clarke's documentary film Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line,[2] and closed with Coralie Fargeat's horror film The Substance.[3]
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Overall the festival screened 197 films, including 28 world premieres and 133 Australian premieres.[4]
The Sydney Film Prize jury was headed by Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanović.[5]
In competition
The following films were selected for the main international competition:
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
All We Imagine as Light | Payal Kapadia | France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg |
Dying | Sterben | Matthias Glasner | Germany |
Grand Tour | Miguel Gomes | Portugal, France, Italy |
Kinds of Kindness | Yorgos Lanthimos | Ireland, United Kingdom, United States |
Kneecap | Rich Peppiatt | Ireland, United Kingdom |
Marcello Mio | Christophe Honoré | France, Italy |
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line | Paul Clarke | Australia |
Puan | María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat | Argentina, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil |
September Says | Ariane Labed | France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, United Kingdom |
Sujo | Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez | Mexico, United States, France |
There's Still Tomorrow | C'è ancora domani | Paola Cortellesi | Italy |
Viet and Nam | Trong lòng đất | Minh Quý Trương | Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, France, Netherlands |
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- Highlighted title indicates Sydney Film Prize winner.
Special Presentations
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
The Bikeriders | Jeff Nichols | United States |
The Convert | Lee Tamahori | Australia, New Zealand |
Dahomey | Mati Diop | France, Senegal, Benin |
The Dead Don't Hurt | Viggo Mortensen | Canada, Denmark, Mexico |
Despicable Me 4 | Chris Renaud | United States |
A Different Man | Aaron Schimberg | United States |
Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Poland, Czechia, France, Belgium |
Kid Snow | Paul Goldman | Australia |
Lee | Ellen Kuras | United Kingdom |
The Monk and the Gun | Pawo Choyning Dorji | Bhutan, Taiwan, France, United States, Hong Kong |
My Old Ass | Megan Park | United States |
The Outrun | Nora Fingscheidt | United Kingdom, Germany |
The Pool | Ian Darling | Australia |
Porcelain War | Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev | United States, Ukraine, Australia |
Touch | Snerting | Baltasar Kormákur | Iceland, United Kingdom |
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Documentary Australia Award
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Aquarius | Wendy Champagne |
The Blind Sea | Daniel Fenech |
Dale Frank: Nobody's Sweetie | Jenny Hicks |
Every Little Thing | Sally Aitken |
Mozart's Sister | Madeleine Hetherton-Miau |
Otto by Otto | Gracie Otto |
Skategoat | Van Alpert |
Welcome to Babel | James Bradley |
Welcome to Yiddishland | Ros Horin |
You Should Have Been Here Yesterday | Jolyon Hoff |
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Features
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
About Dry Grasses | Kuru Otlar Üstüne | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey, France, Germany, Sweden |
Achilles | Farhad Delaram | Iran, Germany, France |
Alienoid | Oegye+in 1bu | Choi Dong-hoon | South Korea |
Alienoid: Return to the Future | Euigye+in 2-bu | Choi Dong-hoon | South Korea |
All Shall Be Well | 從今以後 | Ray Yeung | Hong Kong |
Armand | Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel | Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden |
Brief History of a Family | 家庭简史 | Lin Jianjie | China, Denmark |
City of Wind | Сэр сэр салхи | Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir | France, Mongolia, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar |
Cottontail | Patrick Dickinson | United Kingdom, Japan |
Crossing | Levan Akin | Sweden, Denmark, France, Turkey, Georgia |
Daddio | Christy Hall | United States |
Death of a Whistleblower | Ian Gabriel | South Africa |
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World | Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii | Radu Jude | Romania |
Eephus | Carson Lund | United States |
Essential Truths of the Lake | Lav Diaz | Philippines |
Explanation for Everything | Magyarázat mindenre | Gábor Reisz | Hungary, Slovakia |
Ezra | Tony Goldwyn | United States |
Flathead | Jaydon Martin | Australia |
Ghostlight | Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson | United States |
He Ain't Heavy | David Vincent Smith | Australia |
Hesitation Wound | Tereddüt Çizgisi | Selman Nacar | Turkey, Spain, Romania, France |
House of the Seasons | Oh Jung-min | South Korea |
I Saw the TV Glow | Jane Schoenbrun | United States |
In Vitro | Will Howarth, Tom McKeith | Australia |
Kneecap | Rich Peppiatt | Ireland, United Kingdom |
La cocina | Alonso Ruizpalacios | Mexico, United States |
Memory | Michel Franco | United States |
The Moon Is Upside Down | Loren Horsley | New Zealand |
More Than Strangers | Sylvie Michel | Greece, Germany |
Motel Destino | Karim Aïnouz | Brazil, France, Germany |
My New Friends | Les gens d’à côté | André Téchiné | France |
My Sunshine | ぼくのお日さま | Hiroshi Okuyama | Japan |
One Second Ahead, One Second Behind | Nobuhiro Yamashita | Japan |
Paradise | Prasanna Vithanage | Sri Lanka, India |
Pepe | Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias | Dominican Republic, Namibia, Germany, France |
Problemista | Julio Torres | United States |
Rapture | Dominic M. Sangma | India |
The Rye Horn | O Corno | Jaione Camborda | Spain, Portugal, Belgium |
Sasquatch Sunset | David Zellner, Nathan Zellner | United States |
Sex | Dag Johan Haugerud | Norway |
Shambhala | Min Bahadur Bham | Nepal, France, Norway, Hong Kong, China, Turkey, United States, Qatar, Taiwan |
Something Like an Autobiography | Mostofa Sarwar Farooki | Bangladesh |
Stress Positions | Theda Hammel | United States |
Thelma | Josh Margolin | United States |
Toll | Pedágio | Carolina Markowicz | Brazil, Portugal |
Unicorns | Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd | United Kingdom, United States, Sweden |
Veni Vidi Vici | Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann | Austria |
Woman Of... | Kobieta z... | Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert | Poland, Sweden |
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International Documentaries
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
Agent of Happiness | Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó | Hungary, Bhutan |
Among the Wolves | Tanguy Dumortier, Olivier Larrey | France, Belgium |
Architecton | Viktor Kossakovsky | Germany, France, United States |
Balomania | Sissel Morell Dargis | Denmark, Spain |
The Battle for Laikipia | Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi | Kenya, United States, Greece |
Black Box Diaries | Shiori Itō | United States, United Kingdom, Japan |
Black Snow | Alina Simone | Denmark, United States |
The Bones | Jeremy Xido | Canada, Germany |
The Cats of Gogoku Shrine | Kazuhiro Soda | Japan, United States |
Charmian Clift: Life Burns High | Rachel Lane | Australia |
The Contestant | Clair Titley | United Kingdom |
Copa 71 | Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine | United States |
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck | United States, France |
Federer: Twelve Final Days | Asif Kapadia, Joe Sabia | United Kingdom |
The Flats | Alessandra Celesia | France |
Flickering Lights | Anupama Srinivasan, Anirban Dutta | India |
The Home Game | Heimaleikurinn | Smari Gunn, Logi Sigursveinsson | Iceland |
A Horse Named Winx | Janine Hosking | Australia |
Ibelin | Benjamin Ree | Norway |
In the Rearview | Skąd dokąd | Maciek Hamela | Poland, France, Ukraine |
Life Is Beautiful | Al Haya Helwa | Mohamed Jabaly | Norway, Palestine |
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger | David Hinton | United Kingdom, United States |
Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros | Frederick Wiseman | France |
My Stolen Planet | Farahnaz Sharifi | Germany, Iran |
A New Kind of Wilderness | Silje Evensmo Jacobsen | Norway |
No Other Land | Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor | Palestine, Norway |
Nocturnes | Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan | India, United States |
Occupied City | Steve McQueen | United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States |
Rewards for the Tribe | Rhys Graham | Australia |
Skywalkers: A Love Story | Jeff Zimbalist, >Maria Bukhonina | United States |
Sugarcane | Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie | United States, Canada |
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story | Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui | United Kingdom, United States |
Wilding | David Allen | United Kingdom |
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Late Announce
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
Black Dog | 狗阵 | Guan Hu | China |
Caught by the Tides | 风流一代 | Jia Zhangke | China |
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck | United States, France |
Ghost Trail | Les Fantômes | Jonathan Millet | France, Germany, Belgium |
The Girl with the Needle | Pigen med nålen | Magnus von Horn | Denmark, Poland, Sweden |
Megalopolis | Francis Ford Coppola | United States |
Rumours | Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson | Canada, Germany |
The Seed of the Sacred Fig | دانه انجیر مقدس | Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran, Germany, France |
The Substance | Coralie Fargeat | United Kingdom, United States, France |
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Freak Me Out
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First Nations
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Sustainable Future
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
The Battle for Laikipia | Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi | Kenya, United States, Greece |
Black Snow | Alina Simone | Denmark, United States |
The Feast | Rishi Chandna | India |
Grove of Giants | Bree Sanders | Australia |
The Waiting | Volker Schlecht | Germany |
Wilding | David Allen | United Kingdom |
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Europe! Voices of Women in Film
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
Afterwar | Birgitte Stærmose | Denmark |
Excursion | Ekskurzija | Una Gunjak | Bosnia |
Immortals | Maja Tschumi | Switzerland, Iraq |
Je'vida | Katja Gauriloff | Finland |
The Lost Children | Michèle Jacob | Belgium |
A Postcard from Rome | Elza Gauja | Latvia |
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Sounds on Screen
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
Blur: To the End | Toby L | United Kingdom |
Head South | Jonathan Ogilvie | New Zealand |
Resonance | Kate Vinen, Jayden Rathsam Hua | Australia |
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Family
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Nancy Savoca Retrospective
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Ousmane Sembene Retrospective
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Classics Restored
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FLUX
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Screenability
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
Good Bad Things | Shane D. Stranger | United States |
Rehabilitating | Inez Playford | Australia |
The Ride Ahead | Samuel Habib, Dan Habib | United States |
The Stimming Pool | Benjamin Brown, Georgia Bradburn, Sam Chown-Ahern, Robin Elliott-Knowles, Lucy Walker, Steven Eastwood | United Kingdom |
Threshold | Sofya Gollan | Australia |
Unstoppable | Jack Byrnes, Marcus Porcaro | Australia |
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Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
Alone | Alex Weight | Australia |
Besharam! | Raghav Rampal |
Bong Xi Fa Cai | Johnathan Lo |
Darwin Story | Natasha Tonkin |
Die Bully Die | Nathan Lacey, Nick Lacey |
The Disconnected | Pia Derya |
The Gay | Madeleine Purdy |
The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste | Pernell Marsden |
Say | Chloe Kemp |
This Will Never Last | Julia van Oppen, Katrina Lin, Holly May Fletcher |
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Shorts airing with features
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English title |
Original title |
Director(s) |
Production country |
Dancer | Nomin Gantulga | Australia, Mongolia |
Dream Creep | Carlos A.F. Lopez | United States |
Earwax | Jasper Martin | Australia |
The Feast | Rishi Chandna | India |
First Horse | Awanui Simich-Pene | New Zealand |
Grove of Giants | Bree Sanders | Australia |
It Will Find You | Chris Broadbent, Enzo Tedeschi | Australia |
Lullaby | Chi Thai | United Kingdom |
Meat Puppet | Eros V | United Kingdom |
Mother Tongue | Lea Tupu'anga | Vea Mafile'o | New Zealand |
Of the Last Reel in Front of You | Yan Geng | Australia |
Rehabilitating | Inez Playford | Australia |
Tayal Forest Club | Laha Mebow | Taiwan |
Threshold | Sofya Gollan | Australia |
Transylvanie | Rodrigue Huart | France |
Unstoppable | Jack Byrnes, Marcus Porcaro | Australia |
The Waiting | Volker Schlecht | Germany |
Withered Blossoms | Lionel Seah | Australia |
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The following awards were presented at the festival:
- Sydney Film Prize: There's Still Tomorrow (C'è ancora domani) — Paola Cortellesi[6]
- Documentary Australia Award for Australian Documentary: Welcome to Babel — James Bradley[6]
- Sustainable Future Award: Black Snow — Alina Simone[6]
- First Nations Award: First Horse — Awanui Simich-Pene[6]
- Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films
- Dendy Live Action Short Award: Die Bully Die — Nathan Lacey, Nick Lacey[6]
- The Rouben Mamoulian Award: The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste — Pernell Marsden[6]
- Yoram Gross Animation Award: Darwin Story — Natasha Tonkin[6]
- AFTRS Craft Award: Say — Chloe Kemp[6]
- Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award: Bridget Morrison, Say[6]
- Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award: Debbie Lee[6]
- GIO Audience Awards