# 66th Sydney Film Festival

The 66th annual Sydney Film Festival was held from 5 to 16 June 2019. Comedy drama film Palm Beach opened the festival and musical romantic comedy film Yesterday was the closing film.
Bong Joon-ho's dark comedy thriller film Parasite won the Sydney Film Prize.

## Juries

The following were named as the festival juries:

### Sydney Film Prize

* John Maynard, Australian film producer – Jury President
* Ana Kokkinos, Australian filmmaker
* Wagner Moura, Brazilian actor
* Gaylene Preston, New Zealand filmmaker
* Ritu Sarin, Indian filmmaker

### Documentary Australia Foundation Award

* Robert Nugent, Australian filmmaker
* Jialing Zhang, Chinese director
* Toni Stowers, Australian film producer

### Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films

* Dany Cooper, Australian film editor
* Bill Gosden, New Zealand International Film Festival former director
* Teona Strugar Mitevska, Macedonian director

## Official selection
### In competition

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Bacurau | Bacurau | Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles | Brazil, France |
| Bellbird | Bellbird | Hamish Bennett | New Zealand |
| Dirty God | Dirty God | Sacha Polak | United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland |
| God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija | Gospod postoi, imeto ì e Petrunija | Teona Strugar Mitevska | Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, France, Croatia |
| Hearts and Bones | Hearts and Bones | Ben Lawrence | Australia |
| Judy and Punch | Judy and Punch | Mirrah Foulkes | Australia |
| Monos | Monos | Alejandro Landes | Colombia, Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Uruguay |
| Never Look Away | Werk ohne Autor | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Germany |
| Pain and Glory | Dolor y gloria | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
| Parasite | 기생충 | Bong Joon-ho | South Korea |
| The Souvenir | The Souvenir | Joanna Hogg | United Kingdom |
| Synonyms | Synonymes | Nadav Lapid | France, Germany |
    Highlighted title indicates Sydney Film Prize winner.

### Documentary Australia Foundation Award

| English title | Original title | Director(s) |
| I Am No Bird | I Am No Bird | Em Baker |
| In My Blood It Runs | In My Blood It Runs | Maya Newell |
| It All Started with a Stale Sandwich | It All Started with a Stale Sandwich | Samantha Lang |
| The Leunig Fragments | The Leunig Fragments | Kasimir Burgess |
| Life After the Oasis | Life After the Oasis | Sascha Ettinger Epstein |
| Lili | Lili | Peter Hegedus |
| Martha: A Picture Story | Martha: A Picture Story | Selina Miles |
| Sanctuary | Sanctuary | Kaye Harrison |
| She Who Must Be Loved | She Who Must Be Loved | Erica Glynn |
| White Light | White Light | George Gittoes |

### Special Presentations

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| The Biggest Little Farm | The Biggest Little Farm | John Chester | United States |
| Blinded by the Light | Blinded by the Light | Gurinder Chadha | United Kingdom |
| Children of the Sea | 海獣の子供 | Ayumu Watanabe | Japan |
| The Dead Don't Die | The Dead Don't Die | Jim Jarmusch | United States |
| The Final Quarter | The Final Quarter | Ian Darling | Australia |
| High Life | High Life | Claire Denis | France, Germany, United Kingdom |
| Marighella | Marighella | Wagner Moura | Brazil |
| Mystify: Michael Hutchence | Mystify: Michael Hutchence | Richard Lowenstein | Australia |
| Photograph | Photograph | Ritesh Batra | India, United States, Germany |
| Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese | Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese | Martin Scorsese | United States |
| Skin | Skin | Guy Nattiv | United States |
| Slam | Slam | Partho Sen-Gupta | Australia, France |
| So Long, My Son | 地久天长 | Wang Xiaoshuai | China |
| Standing Up for Sunny | Standing Up for Sunny | Steven Vidler | Australia |
| Varda by Agnès | Varda by Agnès | Agnès Varda | France |

### Features

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Akasha | Akasha | Hajooj Kuka | Sudan, South Africa, Qatar, Germany |
| Alpha, The Right To Kill | Alpha, The Right To Kill | Brillante Mendoza | Philippines |
| American Woman | American Woman | Jake Scott | United States |
| Angelo | Angelo | Markus Schleinzer | Austria, Luxembourg |
| Animals | Animals | Sophie Hyde | Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom |
| Bait | Bait | Mark Jenkin | United Kingdom |
| Brittany Runs a Marathon | Brittany Runs a Marathon | Paul Downs Colaizzo | United States |
| Clean Up | 호흡 | Kwon Man-ki | South Korea |
| Cold Sweat | عرق سرد | Soheil Beiraghi | Iran |
| Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan | Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan | Kriv Stenders | Australia |
| Divine Love | Divino amor | Gabriel Mascaro | Brazil, Uruguay, Denmark, Norway, Chile, Sweden |
| Dolce Fine Giornata | Dolce Fine Giornata | Jacek Borcuch | Poland |
| The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste Garcia | El viaje extraordinario de Celeste García | Arturo Infante | Cuba, Germany |
| Flatland | Flatland | Jenna Bass | South Africa, Luxembourg, Germany |
| Ghost Town Anthology | Répertoire des villes disparues | Denis Côté | Canada |
| Her Smell | Her Smell | Alex Ross Perry | United States |
| Happy New Year, Colin Burstead | Happy New Year, Colin Burstead | Ben Wheatley | United Kingdom |
| I Am Mother | I Am Mother | Grant Sputore | Australia |
| In Fabric | In Fabric | Peter Strickland | United Kingdom |
| Jesus | 僕はイエス様が嫌い | Hiroshi Okuyama | Japan |
| Journey to a Mother's Room | Viaje al cuarto de una madre | Celia Rico Clavellino | Spain, France |
| Kursk | Kursk | Thomas Vinterberg | France, Belgium, Luxembourg |
| Ladyworld | Ladyworld | Amanda Kramer | United States |
| Manta Ray | กระเบนราหู | Phuttiphong Aroonpheng | Thailand, France, China |
| The Mountain | The Mountain | Rick Alverson | United States |
| The Nightingale | The Nightingale | Jennifer Kent | Australia |
| Öndög | Öndög | Wang Quan'an | Mongolia |
| Our Time | Nuestro tiempo | Carlos Reygadas | Germany, Mexico, France, Sweden, Denmark |
| Papi Chulo | Papi Chulo | John Butler | United States, Ireland |
| Piranhas | La paranza dei bambini | Claudio Giovannesi | Italy |
| The Public | The Public | Emilio Estevez | United States |
| Saturday Afternoon | Shonibar Bikel | Mostofa Sarwar Farooki | Bangladesh, Germany |
| School's Out | L'heure de la sortie | Sébastien Marnier | France |
| Screwdriver | Mafak | Bassam Jarbawi | Palestine, United States, Qatar |
| Sequin in a Blue Room | Sequin in a Blue Room | Samuel Van Grinsven | Australia |
| Sibel | Sibel | Çağla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti | France, Germany, Turkey, Luxembourg |
| Suburban Wildlife | Suburban Wildlife | Imogen McCluskey | Australia |
| The Sweet Requiem | སྐྱོ་དབྱངས་མངར་མོ། | Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam | India, United States |
| A Tale of Three Sisters | Kız Kardeşler | Emin Alper | Turkey, Germany |
| The Third Wife | Vợ ba | Ash Mayfair | Vietnam |
| This Is Not Berlin | Esto no es Berlín | Hari Sama | Mexico |
| The Wedding Guest | The Wedding Guest | Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom |
| The White Crow | The White Crow | Ralph Fiennes | United Kingdom, United States, Serbia |
| Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story | Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story | Icíar Bollaín | Spain, Cuba, United Kingdom, Germany |

### International Documentary

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| The Amazing Johnathan Documentary | The Amazing Johnathan Documentary | Ben Berman | United States |
| American Factory | American Factory | Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert | United States |
| Anthropocene: The Human Epoch | Anthropocene: The Human Epoch | Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky | Canada |
| Apollo 11 | Apollo 11 | Todd Douglas Miller | United States |
| The Biggest Little Farm | The Biggest Little Farm | John Chester | United States |
| The Brink | The Brink | Alison Klayman | United States |
| Buddha in Africa | Buddha in Africa | Nicole Schafer | Sweden, South Africa |
| The Edge of Democracy | The Edge of Democracy | Petra Costa | Brazil |
| Hail Satan? | Hail Satan? | Penny Lane | United States |
| Halston | Halston | Frédéric Tcheng | United States |
| Honeyland | Honeyland | Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska | Macedonia |
| Just Don't Think I'll Scream | Ne croyez surtout pas que je hurle | Frank Beauvais | France |
| The Kleptocrats | The Kleptocrats | Sam Hobkinson, Havana Marking | United Kingdom |
| Leftover Women | Leftover Women | Hilla Medalia, Shosh Shlam | Germany |
| Maiden | Maiden | Alex Holmes | United Kingdom |
| Meeting Gorbachev | Meeting Gorbachev | Werner Herzog, André Singer | United States, United Kingdom, Germany |
| Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen | Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen | Heperi Mita | New Zealand |
| Midnight Family | Midnight Family | Luke Lorentzen | United States, Mexico |
| Midnight Traveler | Midnight Traveler | Hassan Fazili | United States, Qatar, Canada, United Kingdom |
| The Miracle of the Little Prince | The Miracle of the Little Prince | Marjoleine Boonstra | Netherlands |
| Monrovia, Indiana | Monrovia, Indiana | Frederick Wiseman | United States |
| Nothing Fancy: Diana Kennedy | Nothing Fancy: Diana Kennedy | Elizabeth Carroll | United States |
| On the Inside of a Military Dictatorship | On the Inside of a Military Dictatorship | Karen Stokkendal Poulsen | Denmark, France |
| One Child Nation | One Child Nation | Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang | China, United States |
| Picture Character | Picture Character | Ian Cheney, Martha Shane | United States, Germany, Japan, Argentina, Austria, United Kingdom, Scotland |
| Reason | Reason | Anand Patwardhan | India |
| School of Seduction | School of Seduction | Alina Rudnitskaya | Denmark |
| Sea of Shadows | Sea of Shadows | Richard Ladkani | Austria |
| Shooting the Mafia | Shooting the Mafia | Kim Longinotto | Ireland, United States |
| Talking About Trees | Talking About Trees | Suhaib Gasmelbari | France, Germany, Sudan, Chad, Qatar |
| Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts | Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts | Nick Zeig-Owens | United States |
| Untouchable | Untouchable | Ursula Macfarlane | United States |
| Up the Mountain | Up the Mountain | Zhang Yang | China |
| Varda by Agnès | Varda by Agnès | Agnès Varda | France |
| The Wandering Chef | 밥정 | Park Hye-ryeong | South Korea |
| What Will Become of Us | What Will Become of Us | Steven Cantor | United States |
| XY Chelsea | XY Chelsea | Tim Travers Hawkins | United States |

### Sounds On Screen

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Amazing Grace | Amazing Grace | Alan Elliott | United States |
| David Crosby: Remember My Name | David Crosby: Remember My Name | A. J. Eaton | United States |
| A Dog Called Money | A Dog Called Money | Seamus Murphy | United Kingdom, Ireland |
| Inna de Yard: The Soul of Jamaica | Inna de Yard: The Soul of Jamaica | Peter Webber | France |
| Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love | Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love | Nick Broomfield | United Kingdom |
| Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool | Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool | Stanley Nelson Jr. | United States, United Kingdom |

### Europe! Voices of Women in Film

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| The Best of Dorien B. | The Best of Dorien B. | Anke Blondé | Belgium, Netherlands |
| Caviar | Kaviar | Elena Tikhonova | Austria |
| The Deposit | Tryggð | Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir | Iceland |
| Ever After | Endzeit | Carolina Hellsgård | Germany |
| Only You | Only You | Harry Wootliff | United Kingdom |
| Pause | Παύση | Tonia Mishiali | Cyprus, Greece |
| Queen of Hearts | Dronningen | May el-Toukhy | Denmark, Sweden |
| Retrospekt | Retrospekt | Esther Rots | Netherlands, Belgium |
| Scheme Birds | Scheme Birds | Ellen Fiske, Ellinor Hallin | Sweden, United Kingdom |
| When Tomatoes Met Wagner | When Tomatoes Met Wagner | Marianna Economou | Greece |

### Focus on New Zealand

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Capital in the 21st Century | Capital in the 21st Century | Justin Pemberton | New Zealand |
| The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps | The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps | Julia Parnell | New Zealand |
| Daffodils | Daffodils | David Stubbs | New Zealand |
| The Heart Dances | The Heart Dances | Rebecca Tansley | New Zealand |
| Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen | Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen | Heperi Mita | New Zealand |

### First Nations

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open | The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open | Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn | Canada, Norway |
| Dark Place | Dark Place | Kodie Bedford, Perun Bonser, Rob Braslin, Liam Phillips, Bjorn Stewart | Australia |
| She Who Must Be Loved | She Who Must Be Loved | Erica Glynn | Australia |
| Vai | Vai | Nicole Whippy, Amberley Jo Aumua, Becs Arahanga, Matasila Freshwater, Dianna Fuemana, Mīria George, ʻOfa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, Marina Alofagia McCartney, Sharon Whippy | New Zealand |

## Awards

The following awards were presented at the festival:
* Sydney Film Prize: Parasite by Bong Joon-ho
* Documentary Australia Award for Australian Documentary: She Who Must Be Loved by Erica Glynn
* Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films
** Dendy Live Action Short Award: All These Creatures by Charles Williams
** Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director: Charles Williams for All These Creatures
** Yoram Gross Animation Award: Sohrab and Rustum by Lee Whitmore
* Event Cinemas Australian Short Screenplay Award: Michael Hudson for Ties That Bind
** Special Mention: Victoria Hunt for Take
* Sydney-UNESCO City of Film Award: Darren Dale and Rachel Perkins of Blackfella Films