Sydney Film Festival is one of the world's longest-running film festivals, and is a major event on the NSW cultural calendar. The 12-day festival screens feature films, documentaries, short films and animation from around the world in venues across the city including the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays and the Art Gallery of NSW. SFF also takes place at Apple Store Sydney, SFFTV @ Martin Place and Grasshopper Lounge. New this year is Sydney Film Festival Hub @ Lower Town Hall, featuring free exhibitions, talks, panels, parties, live music, performances and DJs in the Mitsubishi Theatrette.
Under the curatorial helm of Festival Director Nashen Moodley, the 2012 festival showcases 156 films from 51 countries in 49 languages. Of the films, 17 are world premieres and 106 are Australian premieres; 31 films are Australian productions.
The flagship program of Sydney Film Festival is the Official Competition, which was established in 2008 and celebrates 'courageous, audacious and cutting-edge' cinema. The Sydney Film Prize and $60,000 cash is awarded by a jury of five Australian and international filmmakers and industry professionals to the winner among the 12 titles selected for the Official Competition. The Official Competition is endorsed by Federation Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films.
Sydney Film Festival encourages and supports excellence in Australian filmmaking via FOXTEL Australian Documentary Prize and the long-running Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films. The other awards for films screened at SFF are the Community Relations Commission For a Multicultural NSW (CRC) Award, the Peter Rasmussen Innovation Award and the Showtime Movie Channels Audience Awards.
The 59th Sydney Film Festival is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW, the Federal Government through Screen Australia, and the City of Sydney. The festival's Strategic partner is the NSW Government through Destination NSW.
Sydney Film Festival operates year-round via the Travelling Film Festival, Australia's longest-running touring event, which visits 16 different locations around the country.
Anyone can engage with SFF year round by joining up as an Insider, signing up for the festival's e-News and following SFF on Facebook and Twitter.
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