By FilmInk Staff
“With this first look at our 2021 program, we invite audiences back into cinemas to explore our times through film,” says Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. “The global health crisis has taken a terrible toll on humanity and in many areas of life. We may feel isolated, out of touch, and missing our global connections as we all face restrictions, and have been unable to travel beyond country borders for over a year. This August, we invite the audience to join us in discovering the important issues, people, places and phenomena motivating the world’s top filmmakers…to come together and share in their diverse experiences.”
COVID-19 has been tough on everyone and everything, but the world’s film festivals have been hit particularly hard, either forced to shutter operations indefinitely or haul their wares into the online space. With restrictions easing, however, and a little light beginning to appear at the end of the tunnel, many film festivals have been shaking it off and getting back down to in-the-flesh business. One of the big guns returning in 2021 is The Sydney Film Festival, which will be back in cinemas from August 18-29. And ahead of a full programme reveal in July, the fest has named its first 22 films, just to whet your collective appetite. “These first 22 films take us on a journey from Côte d’Ivoire to Kosovo, from Iran to Japan, to the frontlines of climate change and the battle for democracy in Hong Kong,” says festival director Nashen Moodley. “They take us into the future and the wild fantasy beyond. They will also warm your soul and make you laugh. They share deeply human, delicate tales about extraordinary people from very different walks of life.”
There will be new Australian and New Zealand films (Wash My Soul In The River Flow, Step Into Paradise, The Justice Of Bunny King) alongside a host of international highlights: the crime comedy Riders Of Justice, starring Mads Mikkelsen; Shoplifters Of The World, a tribute to ’80s English band The Smiths, inspired by true events; When A City Rises, directed by seven filmmakers and following four different protestors as they fight for their last chance at a democratic future; Swan Song, featuring a career capping performance from cult icon Udo Kier; The Beta Test, a pulsating combination of erotic thriller, crime mystery and Hollywood satire, from Jim Cummings (Thunder Road) and PJ McCabe, and many, many more.
For an extensive list of the films announced, click here. For all information about The Sydney Film Festival, click here.
