SFF Talks & Forums
June 3rd 2009 00:12
Throughout the Sydney Film Festival along with the screenings and the industry day where professionals and amateurs get together to discuss and network their projects, a host of talks and forums ranging from Q&A's with directors and actors including Chilean director Sebastian Silva to discussion sessions and lectures with topics ranging from the recently remastered WAKE IN FRIGHT to the annual Ian Mcpherson Lecture. Having attended a number of these events at last years festival, you can be guaranteed an hour or two of in depth discussion. An example of the quality in these sessions, two of last years attendees Steve McQueen (director HUNGER) and Kimberly Peirce (STOP LOSS) took the time to answer panel and audience questions regarding their films and the stories behind them and this years line up looks just as appealing.
With a first come first served basis, make sure that you get there early to get a good seat.
Friday 5 June 12.15pm Statement Bar
Sandy George (Screen International) in conversation with Chilean director Sebastian Silva
and lead actress Catalina Saavedra. The Maid won the Grand Jury Prize in World Competition at this year!s Sundance Film Festival and Catalina won the Best Actress Award.
The Maid is Silva!s second feature as director (he is also a painter, musician and illustrator),
film, works across theatre, cinema and television in Chile and is a cast member of Chile!s
longest running sitcom "Los Venegas’.
Saturday 6 June 12.15pm Statement Bar
Julie Rigg (Movie Time, Radio National) in conversation with director Steve Jacobs, writer
Anna Maria Monticelli and lead actress Jessica Haines. Disgrace won the Critics prize at
Toronto International Film Festival, is based on the book by JM Coetzee and stars John
Malkovich. Steve is an accomplished actor and director and this is his second feature
collaboration with writer, producer and partner Anna Maria Monticelli. Their previous feature
La Spagnola (SFF 2001) was nominated for 11 AFI Awards. Jessica Haines studied social
anthropology, has appeared in numerous theatre productions and makes her luminous film
debut in Disgrace.
Sunday 7 June 12.15pm Statement Bar
A conversation with Belgian co-director Peter Brosens. Set in the high Andes of Peru,
Altiplano was selected for Critics Week in Cannes 2009. Peter!s previous film, Khadak,
also co-directed with Jessica Hope Woodworth, won 20 awards internationally, including the
Lion of the Future award at Venice Film Festival in 2006. Prior to his collaborative
partnership with Jessica, Peter worked as an independent director and producer. His
internationally-acclaimed, innovative Mongolia Trilogy documentaries (City Of The Steppes
SFF94, State Of Dogs SFF99 and Poets Of Mongolia) received 23 awards and were
selected for over 100 festivals. Peter!s first documentary El Camino Del Tiempo evolved out
of research in the Ecuadorian Andes.
Sunday 7 June 2pm Statement Bar
A conversation with Brock Norman Brock, writer of Bronson. An award-winning screen
writer Brock previously worked for the UK Film Council and was an executive for a number of films including Gosford Park, The Constant Gardener, Ladies in Lavender, The Proposition,
Valiant, Vera Drake and The Importance of Being Earnest. His original screenplay Bronson
premiered in the world cinema dramatic category at Sundance 2009, his writing collaborators have included Nick Cave and Bruce LaBruce, and his writing credits include Dogging: A Love Story, Guardian of the Frontier and Come as You Are.
Representation and Engagement: enriched filmmaking by cast and crews with disability
Sunday 7 June 4pm Statement Bar
Australian filmmakers whose recent works have focused on people with a disability discuss
the origins, production process (including the pitfalls and the high-fives) and public response
to these projects. Panelists include director Safina Uberoi whose documentary A Good Man,
screens in the festival!s inaugural Foxtel Australian documentary competition and follows the
efforts of struggling Australian farmer Chris and his wife Rachel, who is quadriplegic, to open a brothel. Director Genevieve Clay won Tropfest this year for her film Be My Brother, which stars Gerard O!Dwyer, a young man with Down Syndrome.
Safina and Genevieve will be joined by Lester Bostock, Associate Producer of the 1960s
film Lousy Little Sixpence who has an ongoing commitment to work and mentorships in the
film and television industry. Lester is also the President of the Aboriginal Disability Network
and Chair Sarah-Jane Rennie, Director, Accessible Arts Board.
Ian McPherson Lecture – Peter Carlton
Tuesday 9 June 4pm Statement Bar
Given the pace of change and technological advance in production and distribution sectors,
and the sheer volume of films produced each year, what is the future of independent
cinema? The long-burning question is tackled head-on in this essential lecture by Peter
Carlton, Senior Commissioning Executive at Film4 (the UK broadcaster whose recent
commissions include SFF 2009 Opening Night/Official Competition film Looking for Eric and
SFF 2009 feature Unmade Beds, along with Oscar-winner Slumdog Millionaire and SFF
2008 Official Competition winner Hunger).
Ian McPherson helped found the Sydney Film Festival in 1954. He served on the SFF Board
until 1977. Previous McPherson lectures have been given by luminaries such as John Gillett,
Lindsay Anderson, Joseph Skrzynski, George Miller, Dennis O'Rourke, Donald Richie, David
Robinson, David Stratton, Bob Connolly, Brian Rosen, and Deepak Nayar. The 2009 lecture
will be the 29th in the series.
Missing Water – Official Competition Talk
Wednesday 10 June 12.15pm Statement Bar
Garry Maddox (Sydney Morning Herald) in conversation with director Khoa Do, Executive
Producer Matthew Reilly and lead actresses Kathy Nguyen and Sheena Pham. Khoa!s
deeply personal film about the plight of Vietnamese "boat people! has its World Premiere at
Sydney Film Festival. Khoa Do!s credits as director include Footy Legends (2006) and The
Finished People (2003) which was nominated for 3 AFI Awards and won the IF Independent
Spirit Award. He was Young Australian of the Year in 2005. Matthew Reilly is the best-selling
author of nine novels which have sold over three million copies worldwide. Kathy Nguyen
and Sheena Pham make their film debuts in Missing Water.
Wednesday 10 June 2.00pm Statement Bar
Clare Stewart (SFF Festival Director) in conversation with John Woo, director of Red Cliff
which has its Australian Premiere at the festival. Based on events during the Three Kingdom
period, the biggest budget Chinese film ever made stars Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love)
and Takeshi Kaneshiro (The House of Flying Daggers). John Woo!s stand-out Hong Kong
films include A Better Tomorrow I & II (1986, 1987), The Killer (1989) and Hardboiled (1992)
all of which feature his frequent collaborator, actor Chow Yun-fat. Amongst his studio hits are Face/Off (1997) and Mission Impossible II (2000) filmed at Sydney!s Fox Studios.
Face – Official Competition Talk
Friday 12 June 12.30pm
Clare Stewart (SFF Festival Director) in conversation with writer/director Tsai Ming-liang and
lead actor Lee Kang-sheng. Face is Tsai!s third film to be selected for Official Competition in
Cannes following What Time is it There? (2001) and Hole (1998, SFF99) and is the first
feature film to be commissioned and produced by The Louvre in Paris. Tsai Ming-liang has
directed nine feature films – all of which star Lee Kang-sheng in leading roles and seven of
which have screened at SFF. His films have won awards in Berlin, Venice and Cannes film
festivals. Lee Kang-sheng has written and directed two feature films Help Me Eros (2007)
and The Missing (2003).
Saturday 13 June 3pm Statement Bar
David Stratton (At the Movies) discusses the original production history of this Australian
classic through to its painstaking restoration with director Ted Kotcheff, editor Anthony
Buckley, actor Jack Thompson and archivist Graham Shirley. Presently the Executive
Producer of the highly successful TV series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit!, Ted has an
impressive career in film and television. Anthony Buckley!s producer credits include Oyster
Farmer (SFF05) and Bliss and his early career as editor include Age of Consent (SFF05)
and The Removalists. Wake in Fright was iconic Australian actor Jack Thompson!s first film
role and he has gone on to lead a distinguished career winning awards for Sunday Too Far
Away, Breaker Morant and The Sum of Us amongst many others. Graham Shirley, one of
Australia!s leading film historians, is Senior Curator of Moving Image at the National Film and
Sound Archive and has been instrumental, along with Anthony Buckley, in the restoration.
Beautiful Kate – Official Competition Talk
Sunday 14 June 12.15pm Statement Bar
Margaret Pomeranz (At the Movies) in conversation with director Rachel Ward,
actor/producer Bryan Brown and producer Leah Churchill-Brown. Beautiful Kate, is
Rachel!s first feature length film as director, stars Ben Mendelsohn, Rachel Griffiths, Sophie
Lowe and Maeve Dermody and has its World Premiere at Sydney Film Festival. Well known
as an actress, Rachel has directed three short award-winning short films Blindman!s Bluff,
The Big House (SFF01) and Martha!s New Coat (SFF03). Bryan Brown, one of Australia!s
most respected actors (winning AFI Awards for his roles in Two Hands and Breaker Morant), has produced Rachel!s short films as well as various film and TV projects. Leah Churchill Brown previously produced Paul Goldman!s Suburban Mayhem and is a successful advertising producer.
Talks and Forums presented in partnership with Creative Sydney
Behind the Screens
Friday 29 May 8pm-9pm MCA
Exclusive insights into new work as local studios and filmmakers reveal their collaborative processes and expose their daily triumphs and challenges. Presented by Creative Sydney in association with Sydney Film Festival and Metro Screen.
Host - Jay Katz (Mu-Meson Archives). With - Ian Cope (Rising Sun Pictures), Mat Taylor &
Mark Simpson (sixty40), Brad Hayward (Scorched), Ben Briand and Basil Hogios (Cherub
Pictures), Deborah Szapiro (The Good Fight), Andy Nehl (Zapruder!s Other Films "Project
Next!), Phil Lloyd and Trent O!Donnell (Review with Myles Barlow on ABC2).
Telling Stories
Tuesday 2 June 6pm-9pm The Roxy, Parramatta
Sydney!s storytellers and image-makers speak up. What kind of narratives drive our culture?
Do artists have to manage the media message to reach audiences? Does it matter where
you come from? Some of our most celebrated filmmakers, artists and thinkers engage in a
frank discussion about the diversity of creative culture in Sydney, and reveal how they
carved their own paths into their industries and art world. Discussion will be followed by a
screening of Western Sydney!s finest youth shorts. Presented by Creative Sydney in
association with Information and Cultural Exchange, Powerhouse Youth Theatre, Shortcuts
Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival.
With: Peter Gawler (co-creator and writer Underbelly), Paula Abood (Race and the City),
Michaela Perske (Red Ithaka), Alicia Talbot (Urban Theatre Projects), Take Away Theatre,
Antoinette Chiha (The Combination, Triple J, Serhat Caradee (Cedar Boys) and Shortcuts
Filmmakers Maria Tran, Vinh Nguyen, Sally Struhters, Ali Kadhim and Tresa Ponnor.
NB There will be a free bus from the MCA to the Roxy at 4.45pm. Email
info@creativesydney.com.au to book a space.
Back My Project
Thursday 4 June 8pm-9pm MCA
Have you got a brilliant idea for a creative project but lack the cash to make it a reality?
Creative Sydney wants you to pitch your project to a panel of creative industry experts and
decision makers for honest, practical feedback live on stage.
The most innovative and adventurous projects in Sydney will compete for angel funding (i.e.
$1000 cash prize presented by General Pants Co.) at Back My Project, 8pm on June 4, in
front of an audience of peers, funding bodies and potential sponsors. Submissions have now closed, stay tuned to find out which six applicants will get the chance to pitch.
The expert panel includes: Grainne Brunsdon (Associate Director, British Council),
Alexandra Bowen (Program Manager, Visual Arts & Craft, Arts NSW), Ashley Luke(NSW
FTO), Randal Leeb-du Toit (Innovation Bay), Adam Zammit (Peer Group Media), and more
to be announced.
Just announced!
An additional prize of $500 presented by musicnetwork awarded to the best pitch as deemed by the expert panel.
The $1000 prize presented by General Pants Co. will be awarded to the best pitch as deemed by the audience.
Art 2.0
Friday 12 June 6pm-7.30pm MCA
What came first – the technology or the idea? Creators and innovators explore art that
pushes technology forward, and technology that inspires artists to create. Presented by
Creative Sydney in association with Experimenta and Sydney Film Festival.
With: Jordana Maisie (artist), Seb Chan (Powerhouse Museum, Cyclic Defrost), Jack Barton
(City Futures), Jonathan Wald (Shoot The Player), David Cranswick (D-Lux Media Arts), Jen
Mizuik (Experimenta), Kate Crawford (Journalism & New Media Centre, UNSW)
Sustainability summit, 11-12 June
In partnership with Sydney Film Festival, and to tie in with the films which focus on
sustainability, the United States Studies Centre are hosting a summit which assesses the
impact of the global financial crisis on issues of sustainability and globalisation. Keynote
speakers include Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans, John Mickelthwait, editor-in-chief of
The Economist, and Ross Garnaut, Garnaut Climate Change Review. This is sure to be an
illuminating event, so register now!
Registrations are available for one or two days. Mention the promotional code 'SFF' and
receive a 10% discount off of registration. View the summit program and register at
national-summit.
X|Media|Lab conference 12-14 June
SFF has teamed up with X|Media|Lab to host a groundbreaking conference in Sydney during
the festival on the subject of Serious Games. If you are a digital media professional,
documentary maker, games developer, interaction designer, screenwriter, researcher,
academic, or educational professional of any kind, attend the Keynote Conference Day on
Friday 12 June.
The 56th Sydney Film Festival spools from Wednesday 3 June – Sunday 14 June 2009.
For more information visit www.sff.org.au
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