It’s finally upon us! The Sydney Film Festival has launched its 2012 programme and it is packed with goodies! From the 6th to the 17th of June, audiences can look forward to new films from Walter Salles, Wes Anderson, Michael Haneke, Ken Loach, Alexander Sokurov, Takashi Miike, and many others. There is also plenty of Australian talent on offer, including Peter Templeman’s Not Suitable for Children, which opens the festival, and Cate Shortland’s long-awaited follow-up feature to Somersault, Lore, which is taking part in the International Competition. As well as this, SFF is offering two very special retrospective sections: one for the provocative Bernardo Bertolucci, and the other for Nikkatsu – the incredible Japanese studio behind A Colt is My Passport!
To celebrate the launch, we have the entire festival programme listed below. We have provided the directors and country for every feature film at the festival and also list out the short film programs. While the list may seem overwhelming at the moment, we will be trickling reviews of each film onto the AtTheCinema Critics Hub over the next four weeks, as well as doing previews of each section – including our picks – before the festival to help you out.
OPENING NIGHT FILM
Not Suitable for Children | dir. Peter Templeman | AUS
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Safety Not Guaranteed | dir. Colin Trevorrow | USA
OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Alps | dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | GRE
Beasts of the Southern Wild | dir. Benh Zeitlin | USA
Caesar Must Die | dir. Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | ITA
Dead Europe | dir. Tony Krawitz | AUS
Gangs of Wasseypur Parts 1 and 2 | dir. Anurag Kashyap | IND
The King of Pigs | dir. Yuen Sang-ho | KOR
Lore | dir. Cate Shortland | AUS/GER
Monsieur Lazhar | dir. Philippe Falardeau | CAN
Neighbouring Sounds | dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho | BRA
On the Road | dir. Walter Salles | USA
Tabu | dir. Miguel Gomes | POR/GER/BRA/FRA
Today | dir. Alain Gomis | FRA/SEN
FOXTEL AUSTRALIA DOCUMENTARY PRIZE
Coniston Massacre | dir. Francis Jupurrurla Kelly, David Batty
Croker Island Exodus | dir. Steven McGregor
Despite the Gods | dir. Penny Vozniak
Dr. Sarmast’s Music School | dir. Polly Watkins
Killing Anna | dir. Paul Gallasch
Missing in the Land of the Gods | dir. Davor Dirlic
Paramedico | dir. Benjamin Gilmour
Utopia | dir. Bruce Petty
DENDY AWARDS FOR AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILMS
B I N O | dir. Billie Pleffer
Dance Me to the End of Love | dir. Martha Goddard
Dave’s Dead | dir. Alethea Jones
Dumpy Goes to the Big Smoke | dir. Mirrah Foulkes
The Hunter | dir. Marieka Walsh
Julian | dir. Matthew Moore
The Maker | dir. Christopher Kezelos
Rippled | dir. Darcy Prendergast
The Wilding | dir. Grant Scicluna
Yardbird | dir. Michael Spiccia
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Amour | dir. Michael Haneke | FRA/AUT/GER
The Angels’ Share | dir. Ken Loach | UK/FRA
Barbara | dir. Christian Petzold | GER
Brave | dir. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman | USA
I, Anna | dir. Barnaby Southcombe | UK/GER/FRA
The Loneliest Planet | dir. Julia Loktev | USA/GER
Mabo | dir. Rachel Perkins | AUS
Moonrise Kingdom | dir. Wes Anderson | USA
Polisse | dir. Maïwenn | FRA
Rampart | dir. Oren Moverman | USA
A Simple Life | dir. Ann Hui | HKG/CHN
Wuthering Heights | dir. Andrea Arnold | UK
FEATURES
11 Flowers | dir. Wang Xiaoshuai | CHN/FRA
Beauty | dir. Oliver Harmanus | RSA/FRA
Being Venice | dir. Miro Bilbrough | AUS
Captive | dir. Brillante Mendoza | FRA/PHI/GER/UK
The Comedy | dir. Rick Alverson | USA
Death for Sale | dir. Faouzi Bensaïdi | MAR/FRA/BEL/UAE
Faust | dir. Alexander Sokurov | RUS
Final Whistle | dir. Niki Karimi | IRI
For Ellen | dir. So Yong Kim | USA
Goodbye | dir. Mohammad Rasoulof | IRI
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (3D) | dir. Takashi Miike | JPN
Headshot | dir. Pen-ek Ratanaruang | THA/FRA
Hemel | dir. Sacha Polak | NED/ESP
Jeff, Who Lives at Home | dir. Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | USA
Just the Wind | dir. Bence Fliegauf | HUN/GER/FRA
L | dir. Babis Makridis | GRE
Liberal Arts | dir. Josh Radnor | USA
Love Lasts Three Years | dir. Frédéric Beigbeder | FRA
Miss Bala | dir. Gerardo Naranjo | MEX
Modest Reception | dir. Mani Haghighi | IRI
Mosquita y Mari | dir. Aurora Guerrero | USA
My Brother the Devil | dir. Sally El Hosaini | UK
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia | dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan | TUR
Our Homeland | dir. Yonghi Yang | JPN
The Parade | dir. Srdjan Dragojević | SRB/CRO/MKD/SLO
La Pirogue | dir. Moussa Touré | FRA/SEN/GER
Play It Like Godard | dir. Jonathan Zaccaï | FRA/BEL
Policeman | dir. Nadav Lapid | ISR
Postcards from the Zoo | dir. Edwin | INA/GER/HKG/CHN
A Royal Affair | dir. Nikolaj Arcel | DEN/SWE/CZE/GER
Tatsumi | dir. Eric Khoo | SIN/JPN
Twilight Portrait | dir. Angelina Nikonova | RUS
Where Do We Go Now? | dir. Nadine Labaki | FRA/LIB
SOUNDS ON SCREEN
El Gusto | dir. Safinez Bousbia | FRA/ALG/IRE/UAE
Marley | dir. Kevin Macdonald | UK
Searching for Sugar Man | dir. Malik Bendjelloul | SWE/UK
Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You – A Concert for Kate McGarrigle | dir. Liam Lunson | USA/CAN
Under African Skies | dir. Joe Berlinger | USA
The Zen of Bennett | dir. Unjoo Moon | USA
Easy Come, Easy Go | dir. Peter Clifton | AUS
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARIES
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry | dir. Allison Klayman | USA/CHN
Bachelor Mountain | dir. Yu Guangyi | CHN
Ballroom Dancer | dir. Christian Bonke, Andreas Koefoed | DEN
The British Guide to Showing Off | dir. Jes Benstock | UK
Bully | dir. Lee Hirsch | USA
Crazy Horse | dir. Frederick Wiseman | USA/FRA
Death of a Japanese Salesman | dir. Mami Sunada | JPN
Dreams of a Life | dir. Carol Morley | UK
First Position | dir. Bess Kargman | USA
Golden Slumbers | dir. Davy Chou | FRA/CAM
High Tech, Low Life | dir. Stephen Maing | USA/CHN
The Imposter | dir. Burt Layton | UK
Lass Call at the Oasis | dir. Jessica Yu | USA
The Last Dogs of Winter | dir. Costa Botes | NZ
The Law in These Parts | dir. Ra’anan Alexandrowicz | ISR/USA/GER
Maori Boy Genius | dir. Pietra Brettkelly | NZ
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present | dir. Matthew Akers | USA
Pink Ribbons, Inc. | Léa Pool | CAN
Side by Side | dir. Chris Kenneally | USA
Step Up to the Plate | dir. Paul Lacoste | FRA
Undefeated | dir. Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin | USA
The Virgin, the Copts and Me | dir. Namir Abdel Messeeh | FRA/QAT
¡Vivan Las Antipodas! | dir. Victor Kossakovsky | NED/GER/ARG/CHI
Whore’s Glory | dir. Michael Glawogger | AUT
Winter Nomads | dir. Manuel von Stürler | SUI
Woody Allen: A Documentary | dir. Robert B. Weide | USA
The World Before Her | dir. Nisha Pahuja | CAN
RETROSPECTIVE: BERTOLUCCI
1900 | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | ITA/FRA/FRG
Before the Revolution | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | ITA
The Cinema According to Bertolucci | dir. Gianni Amelio | ITA
The Dreamers | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | ITA/FRA/UK
The Last Emperor | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | ITA/CHN/UK
Last Tango in Paris | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | FRA/ITA
La Luna | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | ITA/USA
The Sheltering Sky | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | ITA/UK
The Spider’s Stratagem | dir. Bernardo Bertolucci | ITA
RETROSPECTIVE: NIKKATSU
A Colt is My Passport | dir. Takashi Nomura | JPN
Retaliation | dir. Yauhara Hasebe | JPN
Season of the Sun | dir. Takumi Furukawa | JPN
Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter | dir. Yasuhara Hasebe | JPN
FOCUS ON INDIA
Jai Bhim Comrade | dir. Anand Patwardhan | IND
The Sounds of Old Rooms | dir. Sandeep Ray | IND
The Temple | dir. Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni | IND
Valley of Saints | dir. Musa Syeed | IND/USA
FREAK ME OUT
Excision | dir. Richard Bates Jr. | USA
Harold’s Going Stiff | dir. Keith Wright | UK
Killer Joe | dir. William Friedkin | USA
Livid | Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | FRA
Ok, Good | dir. Daniel Martinico | USA
The Warped Forest | dir. Shunichiro Miki | JPN
SHORT FILMS
43,000 Feet | dir. Campbell Hooper | NZ
Black Buster | dir. S. F. Tusa | AUS
Burning Hearts | dir. James McFay | AUS/JPN
CatCam | dir. Seth Keal | USA
Cryo | dir. Luke Doolan | AUS
Lack of Evidence | dir. Hayoun Kivon | FRA
Lambs | dir. Sam Kelly | NZ
The Last Ice Merchant | dir. Sandy Patch | USA
Letter Tape | dir. Rowena Crowe | AUS/UK
Luminaris | dir. Juan Pablo Zaramella | ARG
The Meaning of Style | dir. Phil Collins | MAS
Night Shift | dir. Zia Mandivwalla | NZ
OK Breathe Auralee | dir. Brooke Pepion Swaney | USA
The Perfect Fit | dir. Tali Yankelevich |UK
Perished | dir. Aaron McCann, Stefan Androv Radanovich | AUS
Playing Ghost | dir. Bianca Ansems | UK
Rauch und Spiegel | dir. Nick Moore | AUS
She.Say | dir. Leah Purcell | AUS
SNAILS! | dir. Geoffrey Cowper | ESP
Snow in Paradise | dir. Justine Simei-Barton, Nikki Si’ulepa | NZ
Unravel | dir. Meghna Gupta | IND/UK
