By Travis Johnson
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius took home the $63,000 Sydney Film Prize, beating out eleven other competitors, at the closing night gala of the 2016 Sydney Film Festival, held at the NSW State Theatre.
Dan Jackson’s In the Shadow of the Hill, a look at Brazil’s largest slum, was awarded the $15,000 Documentary Australia Foundation Award, with a special mention going to bodybuilding doco, Destination Arnold, by Sascha Ettinger Epstein.
The Dendy Live Action Short Award went to Luci Schroder’s The Slapper; The Yoram Gross Animation Award to The Crossing by Marieka Walsh; and Goran Stolevski scored the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director, for his work on You Deserve Everything.
Sheila Jayadev took home the $5000 Event Cinema Australian Short Film Award for Spice Sisters, while Matthew Vesely’s my Best Friend is Stuck on the Ceiling received a special mention.
Lynette Wallworth was given the inaugural Sydney UNESCO City of Film Prize, as presented by Margaret Pomeranz.
Sincere congratulations to all.
