Program

Bid a fond farewell to the 60th annual Sydney Film Festival at an exciting evening filled with acclaim, applause, awards and one more example of the best in film with feel-good documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom. Join us at the State Theatre as we call it a wrap and celebrate the finale of another fantastic festival.

Before the screening of the SFF 2013 Closing Night film, be part of SFF's awards ceremony, honouring the winners of the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize, the 2013 FOXTEL Australian Documentary Prize and the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films.

Tickets are strictly limited, so don't miss out!

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, consisting of five international and Australian filmmakers and industry professionals, awards a cash prize of $60,000, presented at SFF's Closing Night ceremony on Sunday 16 June.

The ultimate Sydney Film Festival experience is to lose yourself in a movie in the magnificent State Theatre. The opulence of the historic 'Palace of Dreams' will add to your enjoyment of this special selection of premieres, award winners and films gathering a global buzz for delivering guaranteed moviegoing satisfaction. 

There are so many great documentaries around this year, and we like to think that the cream of the doco crop is screening in this year's SFF, with multiple winners from Sundance, SXSW and Berlinale, and filmmaking talent from China to Malawi. Come see what all the fuss is about and join the factual-film revolution.

Music and film are inseparable dance partners, and films about music make for some of the most compelling cinema created. The SFF 2013 music-film playlist is more exciting and eclectic than ever, featuring genres ranging from opera to death metal via roots and R&B. Famous faces will fill the screen, alongside many other unsung talents whose tales deserve to be told. All of these engrossing stories are driven by stunning soundtracks that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre.

It's been a big year for Austrian film. Michael Haneke's Amour (SFF 2012) won both the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film. Ulrich Seidl's Paradise trilogy achieved the rare feat of playing in competition at the three major festivals: Cannes, Venice and Berlin.

Through this Focus on Austria, we pay tribute to these masters and their colleagues, their films and their methods, to the beautiful city of Vienna, and to the country's next generation of filmmakers.

Cinematic television continues to thrive around the world, bringing some of cinema's great directors and feature-film production values to home viewers. The best of these can hold their own by any measure, with audiences devouring them in broadcast, download and DVD formats. Here are two world-class examples of when small screen series are of such quality they deserve to be seen on the big screen. 

Each series screens in one session with a 20 minute interval. Tickets $30, concession $27. 

Sydney Film Festival is proud of our new partnership with Screen Australia's Indigenous Department, a team that has nurtured many of the projects and filmmakers that SFF has screened in the past. The history has been strong, and the future is looking good too.

For this edition we bring you films from Jon Bell (The Chuck In), Dylan McDonald (Buckskin), Steven McGregor (Big Name No Blanket) and Ivan Sen (Mystery Road). 

SFF presents a gala Australian special screening of Disney Pixar's Monsters University, welcoming Mike and Sulley back to the big screen to find out how the monster pals from the Oscar®-winning Monsters, Inc. met and became friends. 

Enjoy the Australian Premiere of Red Obsession  on Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th of June at 6:30pm at Event Cinemas George Street, followed by a dinner especially created by top Australian celebrity chef Luke Mangan at glass brasserie at the Hilton Sydney, featuring matching Bordeaux and Eden Road Wines.