Sydney Film Festival Hub

Overview

What exactly is Cinema Burlesque? Who cares! It's free, it has nothing to do with That Film and you can watch it while nursing a cold one at the Town Hall's pop-up bar that is so much more than just a pop-up bar.

Throwing open its doors between 5pm and 10pm every night of the Sydney Film Festival, the Hub will be the nerve centre of 2012's programme. Curated by those cultured revellers The Festivalists, it will be kind of similar to their supremely awesome Jurassic Lounge, except that instead of dinosaurs there will be a giant portrait of Willem Dafoe.

Dafoe's large-scale snap will be accompanied by those of 24 other iconic actors and directors, lensed by Fabrizio Maltese and gathered from major film festivals across the globe for the Hub's headline exhibition. There will also be screenings, talks, panels, parties, live music, DJs and sound and video mash-ups by VJ Tom Loud, all put on with the overarching aim of letting film fiends experience the festival as an insider. And it's free!

See our picks of the 10 best things to see at the Sydney Film Festival.