By Travis Johnson
The first 28 films for the 2017 Sydney Film Festival have been announced, including 16 Australian premieres, and two New South Wales debuts. Comprising a mix of 15 features and 13 documentaries, the initial slate is a promising taste of what’s to come.
Also announced is the addition of the Ritz in Randwick as a festival venue, promising a “…mix of both features and documentaries, curated for a slightly younger audience.”
In the features category we have:
A Ghost Story
Directed by David Lowery. Casey Affleck stars as a young musician who, killed in a car accident, haunts the house where his widow (Rooney Mara) still lives. This supernatural romance is more haunting love story than horror tale.
Maudie
Directed by Aisling Walsh. Sally Hawkins stars as Maude Lewis, one of Canada’s best known folk artists, in this biopic, with Ethan Hawke in support.
An American Werewolf in London
Directed by John Landis. the horror/comedy classic is coming to the Skyline drive-in in Blacktown.
My Life as a Zucchini
Directed by Claude Barras. A young boy sent to a group home after the death of his alcoholic mother, finds comfort, acceptance and hope in this gorgeous stop motion animation.
That’s Not Me
Directed by Gregory Erdstein. Follows aspiring actor Polly, thwarted by the success of her identical twin sister (both played by Alice Foulcher), who uses her sister’s celebrity for her own advantage, resulting in disastrous results for the both of them. Check out the trailer here. Check out our interview with Gregory and Alice here.
Mrs K
Directed by Yuhan Ho. Veteran Hong Kong action star Kara Wai is a housewife whose ordinary life is shaken up when enemies of her past reappear demanding retribution. As her turbulent past is revealed, she must fight for the safety of her family.
God’s Own Country
Directed by Francis Lee. This debut film sees a Yorkshire farmer develop a relationship with a Romanian migrant worker during spring lambing season. Comparisons have been drawn to Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain.
Spoor
Directed by Agnieszka Holland. Adapted from Olga Tokarczuk’s novel, Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead, this mix of forensic crime story and magical realist fairy tale sees a retired civil engineer investigate a series of murders in a remote mountain village.
Wolf and Sheep
Directed by Shahrbanoo Sadat. This debut from Afghanistan’s first female feature director looks at the lives of the shepherd children of a village community who roam the isolated mountains.
Sexy Durga
Directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan. An improvised film shot in one night sees a hitchhiking couple catch a ride with a van of rowdy young guys, only for the mood to turn sinister.
Pop Aye
Directed by Kirsten Tan. A disenchanted architect, who bumps into his long-lost childhood pet elephant on the streets of Bangkok. Together, they set off across Thailand in search for the farm where they grew up together.
The Untamed
Directed by Amat Escalante. A mysterious supernatural force affects the lives of a number of people in modern day Mexico in this mix of domestic realism and dark fantasy.
Hotel Salvation
Directed by Shubhashish Bhutiani. Following a prophetic dream, an elderly man decides he must travel to the sacred stairs of Varanassi to die, dragging his reluctant son with him.
Graduation
Directed by Cristian Mungiu. A father must make tough choices to protect his daughter’s future after she is attacked just days before her high school exams.
The Woman Who Left
Directed by Lav Diaz. Phillipino actress Charo Santos-Concio returns to acting after a 17 year break in this black-and-white drama exploring the struggles of a woman released after 27 years in a Siberian jail for a crime she did not commit.
And in documentary:
Whitney. ‘I Can Be Me’
Directed by Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal. The story of Whitney Houston, the most awarded female recording artist of all time – selling in excess of 86 million copies. The film offers a never-before-seen backstage look at the height of Houston’s stardom – includes unseen footage and recordings.
I Am Not Your Negro
Directed by Raoul Peck. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, a story of the struggles for racial and economic equality in America during the ’50s and ’60s, based on acclaimed novelist and activist James Baldwin’s unfinished book, Remember This House, considered as one of the greatest incomplete works of American literature.
Winnie
Directed by Pascale Lamche. The story of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was married for 38 years to Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first post-Apartheid president.
The Opposition
Directed by Hollie Fifer. This controversial documentary, currently the subject of a fierce court case, tells of a David vs Goliath battle to save a community of 3,000 people being replaced with an international five -star hotel and marina developed by an Australian run company.
Mountain
Directed by Jennifer Peedom. From the director of the acclaimed Sherpa comes this look at the history of our timeless fascination with mountains and why people risk their lives for them. Based on the book, Mountains of the Mind by Robert MacFarlane.
Spookers
Directed by Florian Habicht. Focuses on the tight-knit New Zealand family who run the biggest horror theme park in the Southern Hemisphere, and the community of amateur and part time actors who bring the monsters to life.
RUMBLE: The Indians who Rocked the World
Directed by Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana. Explores the overlooked contributions and the vast influence of Native Americans in the history of American blues music, featuring interviews with Martin Scorsese, Iggy Pop, Steven Tyler, Tony Bennett and Quincy Jones.
Liberation Day
Directed by Ugis Olte and Morten Traavik. Slovenian art-rock band Laibach became the first rock band ever to perform in the fortress state of North Korea. A Latvian-Norwegian film team is given unprecedented access to document the band and their now-historic concert.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Directed by Steve James. Immigrant family-owned Abacus Federal Savings Bank were the only American bank to be indicted for relatively minor mortgage fraud following the 2008 US financial meltdown, while top banks escaped unscathed with multi-billion dollar bailouts. This film documents the Sung family’s $10 million, five-year legal struggle to clear their name.
Untitled
Directed by Michael Glawogger and Monika Willi. Footage from the unfinished last project of Michael Glawogger (Working Man’s Death) crafted into a poetic film by his long term collaborator Monika Willi.
Nowhere to Hide
Directed by Zaradasht Amed. A gripping, yet uplifting documentary covering the often-ignored violent aftermath of the Iraq war in Baghdad. Filmed by Nori Sharif, a nurse from a hospital in Jalawla, providing unique insight into the “triangle of death” in Iraq, featuring first-hand accounts of five years of treating war victims.
Waiting for Giraffes
Directed by Marco de Stefanis. The story of the only zoo in the world located in occupied territory (Palestine), the film follows zoo vet Dr Sami’s quest to bring in new giraffes after many animals were killed during Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Motherland
Directed by Ramona S. Diaz. An upbeat, optimistic portrayal of the world’s busiest maternity unit in Jose Fabella Hospital in Manila, Phillipines.
