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The 67th Sydney Film Festival: Virtual Edition and Awards program (10-21 June) today opens to audiences across Australia.

An array of new Australian and international films can now be watched, along with conversations with filmmakers from each of the feature-length films and a range of panels and talks. For the very first time, the Festival’s Awards Ceremony – normally a ticketed event – is free to watch (Thursday, 18 June at 6pm).

Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley said, “In changing and challenging times, when connection is more vital than ever, this year’s Virtual Festival presents 33 new films by storytellers from a variety of backgrounds, for us to see, share and discuss.

“Through these films and the Festival’s program of special events, we hear from filmmakers presenting unique perspectives about diversity and inclusion. We hope this first nation-wide Sydney Film Festival will generate debate and encourage shared understanding in living rooms across the country.

“The Festival also hopes audiences will join us for the Awards Ceremony to find out who will win the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Best Australian Documentary, the Dendy Live Action Short Award, the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director and the Yoram Gross Animation Award,” Moodley said.

Program of Special Events:

FREE Festival talks and panel discussions are a core component of Sydney Film Festival each year, providing an opportunity for filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences to come together to discuss key issues and topics, as addressed in Festival films. This year the Virtual Edition brings these online in a range of ways:

In Conversation: interviews with the key creative talent behind each of the feature-length films in the program, moderated by a Festival programmer or a local film critic. They are free to view with a ticket purchase to the related film or films.
Documentary Australia Foundation Award Panel (Thursday 11 June, 6pm), is a meet the filmmaker panel featuring the women behind a selection of titles in the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Best Australian Documentary competition: Morgana director Isabel Peppard, Rosemary’s Way director Ros Horin and Our Law producer Taryne Laffar, chaired by filmmaker and Documentary Australia Foundation CEO Mitzi Goldman.
The Leadership – Extended Discussion (Friday 12 June, 6pm), is an in-depth discussion about opportunities for women as leaders in science, hosted by ABC Radio National Drive presenter Patricia Karvelas, alongside The Leadership director and writer Ili Baré; leadership expert and Dattner Group founder Fabian Dattner; Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Professor Veena Sahajwalla; as well as United Nations Special Mandate Holder and Australia’s longest-serving Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick AO.
The Female Gaze: A Conversation With Three of Australia’s Leading Women Screenwriters (Monday 15 June, 6pm), will explore a variety of topics including writing female characters, working in isolation, and Australia’s gender disparity on-screen, hosted by SFF Chair Deanne Weir with Australian screenwriters/actors Leah Purcell (Wentworth), Rita Kalnejais (Babyteeth) and Mirrah Foulkes (Judy & Punch, SFF 2019).
Screenability Panel (Tuesday 16 June, 6pm), is an exploration of the value and power of mentoring and building a network, chaired by Screen NSW’s Sofya Gollan and featuring director, writer, actress and mentor Gracie Otto, Safety Net director Anthea Williams, Groundhog Night screenwriter and star Emily Dash and screenwriter and mentor Becca Johnstone.
Europe! Voices of Women in Film Panel: Gender Stereotypes and Storytelling (Wednesday 17 June, 6pm), is an in-depth conversation on gender stereotyping and storytelling with filmmaker Teona Strugar Mitevska (God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya: SFF 2019) and the cutting-edge women filmmakers from the Europe! Voices of Women in Film program.
Meet the Filmmakers: Europe! Voices of Women in Film (Wednesday 17 June, 7:40pm), features discussions with each of the European women filmmakers, hosted by European Women’s Audiovisual Network Director Alessia Sonaglioni.
67th Sydney Film Festival Awards Ceremony (Thursday 18 June, 6pm):

For the first time the Festival extends an open invitation to SFF’s prestigious Awards Ceremony broadcast. The virtual event will unveil the winners of the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Best Australian Documentary, the Dendy Live Action Short Award, the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director and the Yoram Gross Animation Award.
The full Sydney Film Festival 2020 program and events line-up can be found online at sff.org.au.

Sydney Film Festival runs 10-21 June 2020.

Tickets for Sydney Film Festival 2020 are on sale now. Please call 1300 733 733 or visit sff.org.au for more information.