Sydney Film Festival 2011

Overview

There are twin poles of entertainment rambling on the Sydney Streets this June. While Vivid Sydney is dominating the Rocks end of town, the Sydney Film Festival owns the drags south of Martin Place. The Festival used to be an R-rated preserve of afficianados and film professionals, but over the last decade it has grown into a popular event with an international competition and a dedicated children’s program. While the pounding heart of the Festival is the plush State Theatre, this year’s day sessions have been moved across to the George Street cinema complex due to hotel construction at the Gowings site. Some talks will be there, while others have shifted over a block to the Grasshopper, the Apple Store and the Town Hall. Even UNSW is getting in on the action.

Festival opener Hanna has the taut energy of a Bourne thriller, while the closing night Mike Mills film Beginners gently answers the pressing question What if Christopher Pummer came out at 75? For those who've heard of Miranda July (you know who you are), her film The Future will screen with July as a guest, and talking nearby, while Jack Black and Lucy Liu will attend the premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2. As part of the Freak Me Out program, the much anticipated Norwegian Troll Hunter is likely show off how close English and Norse swearing is, while the dreamy Japanese Norwegian Wood and the doco LENNONNYC take you back to the edge of 1970.

The Festival’s program is immense, with films from all over the world. Explore it by strand, pick it apart on your iPhone or get the word on the street. But get a look in.