Our Top 10 Picks From The 2017 Sydney Film Festival Program
Featuring: Nicole Kidman wreaking bloody revenge, an exploration of the Southern Cross, and a hippopotamus-sized pig.
Good news for anyone who enjoys eating popcorn in lieu of actual food: the 2017 Sydney Film Festival is almost here. This year’s program runs more than 250 movies deep, and is jam-packed with quality flicks from both home and abroad.
Below, we’ve highlight ten of the most promising titles in the SFF ’17 lineup. If you’re looking for me between June 7-18, I’ll be in a series of darkened auditoriums slowly forgetting the sun.
We Don’t Need A Map (dir. Warwick Thornton)
Back in 2010, Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah) caused controversy after he expressed concern about the Southern Cross “becoming the new swastika”. In We Don’t Need A Map, Thornton will explore the cultural history of the iconic constellation, from its spiritual significance in Aboriginal culture to its modern status as a symbol of Australian nationalism. Chosen as this year’s opening night film, the documentary features interviews with tattoo artists, astronomers, Indigenous elders and rappers, and maybe a few bush puppets too.
The Beguiled (dir. Sofia Coppola)
Director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) gets sexy/violent in her fresh-from-Cannes thriller The Beguiled. A remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood vehicle of the same name, the film takes place in an all-girl boarding school during the American Civil War, where a group of students and teachers (Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman among them) nurse an enemy soldier (Colin Farrell) back to health. One critic recently described it as a “witheringly elegant fuckboy takedown”, which might honestly be the best four-word review I’ve ever read.
Ali’s Wedding (dir. Jeffrey Walker)
Full disclosure: we’ve been dying to see Ali’s Wedding since it premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival late last year. Billed as Australia’s first Muslim rom-com, the film is based on the experiences of its writer and lead actor Osamah Sami, whose ill-fated arranged marriage lasted less than two hours. Not only is the trailer almost painfully adorable, but the pic is exec-produced by local filmmaking legend Tony Ayres (Mao’s Last Dancer), who has long been advocating for greater diversity on Australian screens. Get around it.
The Little Hours (dir. Jeff Baena)
Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie and Garfunkel and Oates‘ Kate Micucci play horny, foul-mouthed nuns in what looks like the most blasphemous comedy this side of Dogma. Written and directed by Jeff Baena (who previously worked with Plaza on the zombie rom-com Life After Beth), the film is based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, although I’m not sure the writer who was born in 1313 ever imagined an adaptation quite like this. Dave Franco, John C. Reilly, Nick Offerman and Molly Shannon round out the cast of a film that the Catholic League condemned as “trash, pure trash”.
Spookers (dir. Florian Habicht)
Don’t be put off by the chainsaw-wielding clown: Spookers is actually very sweet. Named for one of New Zealand’s most unusual tourist attractions, this kind-hearted documentary follows the trials and tribulations of the employees at an enormous haunted house near Auckland. Caked in makeup and fake blood, they’re a colourful collection of misfits whose work provides an escape from the tough realities of everyday life. Audiences in Sydney can really get into the spirit of things by rocking up to the screening in costume as their favourite horror character, with prizes for best dressed on the door.
Chauka Please Tell Us the Time (dir. Arash Kamali Sarvestani and Behrouz Boochani)
Two men share the directing credit on Chauka Please Tell Us the Time. One is Arash Kamali Sarvestani, an Iranian-Dutch filmmaker who lives and works in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The other is Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian-Kurdish journalist who has spent more than three-and-a-half years imprisoned on Manus Island. Shot in secret by Boochani using a mobile phone, this important documentary offers an unflinching look at daily life in Australia’s offshore immigration prison, and shapes up as a must see for anyone of voting age.
Manifesto (dir. Julian Rosefeldt)
Whether she’s calling out sexism on the red carpet or slamming Trump on late night telly, Cate Blanchett is a national treasure. She’s also a bloody good actor, so any film that features her 13 times over is definitely going to be worth a look. Created by German artist Julian Rosefeldt, Manifesto was originally commissioned as a multi-screen video installation and has previously been exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW and the Australian Centre for the Moving Arts in Melbourne. In this feature film revamp, Blanchett gets to flex her acting muscles, appearing as — among other things — a news anchor, a factory worker, a homeless man and a puppeteer.
I Am Not Your Negro (dir. Raoul Peck)
One of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of last year, Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro is based on an unpublished manuscript by the late author and essayist James Baldwin — a man whose musings on race relations in the United States remain as relevant today as they did more than half a century ago. Narrated by the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson, the film examines the lives of civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., drawing parallels between their essential struggle and that of present day activist groups such as Black Lives Matter.
Whitney: Can I Be Me (dir. Nick Broomfield)
The standout title in the festival’s strong contingent of music documentaries is the latest film from prolific director Nick Broomfield (Kurt & Courtney). An uncompromising portrait of an iconic star, Whitney: Can I Be Me combines intimate back-stage vision and breathtaking concert footage with in-depth interviews with the people who knew the singer best. The result is a comprehensive and critically acclaimed look at the incredible life and tragic death of Whitney Houston, a gifted artist gone far too soon.
Okja (dir. Bong Joon-ho)
This year’s closing night film stars Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Jake Gyllenhaal, Giancarlo Esposito… and a hippopotamus-sized CGI pig. From creature feature The Host to dystopian thriller Snowpiercer, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has made a career out of strange, stylish efforts that defy easy categorisation. A socially conscious action-adventure film about a little girl who teams up with a group of animal rights activists after a nefarious multinational corporation kidnaps her four legged-best friend, the Netflix-produced Okja looks to be absolutely no exception.
–
The Sydney Film Festival runs from June 7-18. Check out the full program and buy tickets here.
–
Tom Clift is Junkee’s weekend and morning editor. He also writes for Concrete Playground, is the co-founder of Movie Mezzanine, and tweets sporadically at @tom_clift.