The 63rd Sydney Film Festival tonight awarded Aquarius, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, the prestigious Sydney Film Prize, out of a selection of 12 Official Competition films.
The $63,000 cash prize was awarded at the Festival’s Closing Night Gala awards ceremony and event: the Australian premiere screening of Whit Stillman’s Love & Friendship, held at the State Theatre.
Sydney filmmaker Dan Jackson was awarded the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary, a $15,000 cash prize, forIn the Shadow of the Hill; with a special mention going to Destination Arnold directed by Sascha Ettinger Epstein.
The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films were announced; awarding Slapper, directed and written by Luci Schroder, The Dendy Live Action Short Award; The Crossing, directed and written by Marieka Walsh, TheYoram Gross Animation Award; and Goran Stolevski, the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director, for You Deserve Everything.
The Event Cinema Australian Short Screenplay Award was awarded to Spice Sisters, written and directed by Sheila Jayadev, who received a $5,000 cash prize, with a special mention to Matthew Vesely for MyBest Friend Is Stuck On The Ceiling.
The new annual Sydney UNESCO City of Film Prize was awarded to Ms Lynette Wallworth, who received $10,000 prize awarded by Screen NSW, presented by Margaret Pomeranz AM.
Sydney Film Festival CEO Leigh Small said, “Cinemas were full again this year with an average of 73% capacity across all sessions and more sellouts than ever before. Final attendance figures will exceed last year and reach almost 180,000. We were particularly proud to present even more filmmaker and curator hosted screenings; and to see the introduction of the Lexus Short Film Fellowships.”
Sydney Film FestivalDirectorNashen Moodley said: “The Festival has been bolstered with an incredible line up of important films and filmmakers from around the world, with a strong selection direct from Cannes, including the winning film Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius, Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World, Oscar winning Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Singaporean Boo Junfeng’s Apprentice, and American filmmaker Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic, French director Jean-François Richet’s Blood Father starring Oscar-winning filmmaker and actor Mel Gibson; American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s Gimme Danger, Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s fantasy adventure The BFG; prolific contemporary Indian director Anurag Kashyap’s Psycho Raman; Korean director Park Chan-wook’s sensual, twist-filled tale The Handmaiden and Jim Jarmusch’s popular Cannes hitPaterson.
“Important voices for Australian cinema also received their world premieres at the Festival including Ivan Sen with Goldstone, Abe Forsythe’s Down Under, Stephen Sewell’s Embedded and Craig Boreham’s Teenage Kickswhich screened to critical acclaim.”
“Other highlights included hosting multi Academy Award winning documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy who presented the Australian premiere of her most recent films A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, and A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers with co-director Geeta Gandbhir, to a standing ovation. On the final weekend, the festival hosted another Oscar winner, Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), with his latest music-inspired documentary The Music of Strangers – Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.”
“The Festival also announced the inaugural four Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship fellows: Anya Beyersdorf, Brooke Goldfinch, Alex Murawski and Alex Ryan at the world premiere of Australian actor and filmmaker Damian Walshe-Howling’s short film MESSiAH, at the State Theatre, followed by the Australian Premiere of Blood Father, where Mel Gibson introduced his film, and the next day was in-conversation at a free public talk at the Festival Hub,” he said.
ABOUT SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL
From Wednesday 8 June to Sunday 19 June 2016, the 63rd Sydney Film Festival offers Sydneysiders another exciting season of cinema amidst a whirlwind of premieres, red-carpet openings, in-depth discussions, international guests and more. Each year the Festival’s programming team curates 12 days of cinema sourced from world-famous film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and the Berlinale; as well as Australia’s finest productions.
Sydney Film Festival also presents an Official Competition of 12 films that vie for the Sydney Film Prize, a highly respected honour that awards a $60,000 cash prize based on the decision of a jury of international and Australian filmmakers and industry professionals. Previous Sydney Film Prize winners are: Arabian Nights (2015); Two Days, One Night (2014); Only God Forgives (2013); Alps (2012); A Separation (2011); Heartbeats (2010); Bronson (2009); and Hunger (2008).
The Festival takes place across greater Sydney: at the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays, Dendy Newtown, Skyline Drive-In Blacktown, Art Gallery of NSW, Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne, Casula Powerhouse, the Festival Hub at Sydney Town Hall and SFF Outdoor Screen.
The Festival is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar and is one of the world’s longest-running film festivals. For more information visit: www.sff.org.au.
The 63rd Sydney Film Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Screen NSW and Destination NSW, the Federal Government through Screen Australia and the City of Sydney. The Festival’s Strategic Partner is the NSW Government through Destination NSW.