# 68th Sydney Film Festival

The 68th annual Sydney Film Festival was held from 3 to 21 November 2021. The festival, which traditionally takes place in June, was postponed to August 2021 and eventually rescheduled to be held in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film screenings were staged as a "hybrid" of in-person and digital. It marked as the first major festival following the lifting of the lockdown in New South Wales.
Anthology film Here Out West opened the festival, while Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch was the closing film. Drama film There Is No Evil won the most prestigious award, Sydney Film Prize.

## Juries
### Sydney Film Prize

The following were named as the festival juries:
* David Michôd, Australian writer and director – Jury President
* Simon Baker, Australian actor
* Kyas Hepworth, National Indigenous Television Head of Commissioning and Programming
* Maya Newell, Australian filmmaker
* Clara Law, Hong Kong-Australian filmmaker

## Official Selection
### In competition

The following films were selected for the main international competition:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc | Radu Jude | Romania, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Croatia |
| Drive My Car | ドライブ・マイ・カー | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan |
| The Drover's Wife | The Drover's Wife | Leah Purcell | Australia |
| Flee | Flugt | Jonas Poher Rasmussen | Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway |
| The Hand of God | È stata la mano di Dio | Paolo Sorrentino | Italy |
| Limbo | Limbo | Ben Sharrock | United Kingdom |
| Memoria | Memoria | Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Colombia, Thailand, United Kingdom, Mexico, France, Germany, Qatar |
| Petite Maman | Petite Maman | Céline Sciamma | France |
| Quo Vadis, Aida? | Quo Vadis, Aida? | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Norway, Turkey |
| The Story of My Wife | A feleségem története | Ildikó Enyedi | Hungary, Germany, Italy, France |
| There Is No Evil | شیطان وجود ندارد | Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran, Germany, Czechia |
| Undine | Undine | Christian Petzold | Germany, France |
    Highlighted title indicates Sydney Film Prize winner.

### Documentary Australia Foundation Award

| English title | Original title | Director(s) |
| The Bowraville Murders | The Bowraville Murders | Allan Clarke |
| The Department | The Department | Sascha Ettinger Epstein |
| A Fire Inside | A Fire Inside | Justin Krook, Luke Mazzaferro |
| I'm Wanita | I'm Wanita | Matthew Walker |
| Incarceration Nation | Incarceration Nation | Dean Gibson |
| Ithaka | Ithaka | Ben Lawrence |
| The Kids | The Kids | Eddie Martin |
| Strong Female Lead | Strong Female Lead | Tosca Looby |
| Television Event | Television Event | Jeff Daniels |
| Under the Volcano | Under the Volcano | Gracie Otto |
| Unseen Skies | Unseen Skies | Yaara Bou Melhem |
| When the Camera Stopped Rolling | When the Camera Stopped Rolling | Jane Castle |

### Special Presentations

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Bergman Island | Bergman Island | Mia Hansen-Løve | France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden |
| Blue Bayou | Blue Bayou | Justin Chon | United States |
| Bosch & Rockit | Bosch & Rockit | Tyler Atkins | Australia |
| Burning | Burning | Eva Orner | Australia |
| Great Freedom | Große Freiheit | Sebastian Meise | Austria, Germany |
| Lingui, The Sacred Bonds | Lingui | Mahamat-Saleh Haroun | Chad, France, Belgium, Germany |
| Love Songs for Tough Guys | Cette musique ne joue pour personne | Samuel Benchetrit | France, Belgium |
| Parallel Mothers | Madres paralelas | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
| Paris, 13th District | Les Olympiades | Jacques Audiard | France |
| The Power of the Dog | The Power of the Dog | Jane Campion | New Zealand, Australia |
| River | River | Jennifer Peedom | Australia |
| Titane | Titane | Julia Ducournau | France, Belgium |
| Wash My Soul in the River's Flow | Wash My Soul in the River's Flow | Philippa Bateman | Australia |
| The Worst Person in the World | Verdens verste menneske | Joachim Trier | Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark |
| Zola | Zola | Janicza Bravo | United States |

### Features

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| After Love | After Love | Aleem Khan | United Kingdom |
| Amparo | Amparo | Simón Mesa Soto | Colombia, Sweden, Qatar |
| Anaïs in Love | Les Amours d'Anaïs | Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet | France |
| Apples | Μήλα | Christos Nikou | Greece, Poland, Slovenia |
| Beginning | დასაწყისი | Dea Kulumbegashvili | Georgia, France |
| Brighton 4th | Brighton 4th | Levan Koguashvili | Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, Monaco, United States |
| The Card Counter | The Card Counter | Paul Schrader | United States, United Kingdom, China |
| Cinema Sabaya | Cinema Sabaya | Orit Fouks Rotem | Belgium |
| Come Here | ใจจำลอง | Anocha Suwichakornpong | Thailand |
| Compartment No. 6 | Hytti nro 6 | Juho Kuosmanen | Finland, Germany, Estonia |
| A Cop Movie | Una película de policías | Alonso Ruizpalacios | Mexico |
| Crossing Paths | Crossing Paths | JJ Winlove | Australia |
| Cryptozoo | Cryptozoo | Dash Shaw | United States |
| Dear Evan Hansen | Dear Evan Hansen | Stephen Chbosky | United States |
| The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet | El perro que no calla | Ana Katz | Argentina |
| El Planeta | El Planeta | Amalia Ulman | Spain, United States |
| Erna at War | Erna i krig | Henrik Ruben Genz | Denmark, Estonia, Belgium |
| The Eyes of Tammy Faye | The Eyes of Tammy Faye | Michael Showalter | United States |
| Fist of Fury Noongar Daa | Fist of Fury Noongar Daa | Kylie Bracknell | Hong Kong, Australia |
| Friends and Strangers | Friends and Strangers | James Vaughan | Australia |
| The Gravedigger's Wife | La femme du fossoyeur | Khadar Ayderus Ahmed | Finland, Germany, France |
| A Hero | قهرمان | Asghar Farhadi | Iran, France |
| Hit the Road | جاده خاکی | Panah Panahi | Iran |
| Honey Cigar | Cigare au miel | Kamir Aïnouz | France, Algeria, Belgium |
| Just Like That | Aise Hee | Kislay Kislay | India |
| The Justice of Bunny King | The Justice of Bunny King | Gaysorn Thavat | New Zealand |
| King Richard | King Richard | Reinaldo Marcus Green | United States |
| Last Film Show | Chhello Show | Pan Nalin | India |
| Long Weekend | Long Weekend | Steve Basilone | United States |
| Memory Box | Memory Box | Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige | France, Lebanon, Canada, Qatar |
| Moffie | Moffie | Oliver Hermanus | South Africa, United Kingdom |
| My Best Part | Garçon chiffon | Nicolas Maury | France |
| Never Gonna Snow Again | Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie | Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert | Poland, Germany |
| Nowhere Special | Nowhere Special | Uberto Pasolini | Italy, France |
| One Second | 一秒钟 | Zhang Yimou | China |
| Pompo: The Cinéphile | 映画大好きポンポさん | Takayuki Hirao | Japan |
| Prayers for the Stolen | Noche de fuego | Tatiana Huezo | Mexico, Germany, Brazil, Qatar |
| Real | Real | Aki Omoshaybi | United Kingdom |
| Rehana Maryam Noor | Rehana Maryam Noor | Abdullah Mohammad Saad | Bangladesh, Singapore, Qatar |
| Simple Passion | Passion simple | Danielle Arbid | France, Belgium |
| Striding Into the Wind | 野马分鬃 | Wei Shujun | China |
| Swan Song | Swan Song | Todd Stephens | United States |
| The Swordsman | 검객 | Choi Jae-hoon | South Korea |
| A Tale of Love and Desire | Une histoire d'amour et de désir | Leyla Bouzid | France, Tunisia |
| True Mothers | 朝が来る | Naomi Kawase | Japan |
| The Tsugua Diaries | Diários de Otsoga | Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes | Portugal |
| Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy | 偶然と想像 | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan |
| When Pomegranates Howl | When Pomegranates Howl | Granaz Moussavi | Australia, Afghanistan |
| The Year of the Everlasting Storm | The Year of the Everlasting Storm | Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor Castillo, David Lowery, Apichatpong Weerasethakul | United States, Iran, Chile, Thailand, United Kingdom, Singapore |

### Special Screening

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Dune | Dune | Denis Villeneuve | United States, Hungary, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Canada |

### International Documentaries

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Anonymous Club | Anonymous Club | Danny Cohen | Australia |
| Ascension | Ascension | Jessica Kingdon | United States |
| A Black Jesus | A Black Jesus | Luca Lucchesi | Germany |
| Blind Ambition | Blind Ambition | Robert Coe, Warwick Ross | Australia |
| City Hall | City Hall | Frederick Wiseman | United States |
| Cow | Cow | Andrea Arnold | United Kingdom |
| The Filmmaker's House | The Filmmaker's House | Marc Isaacs | United Kingdom |
| The First 54 Years — An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation | The First 54 Years — An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation | Avi Mograbi | France, Finland, Germany |
| Four Seasons in a Day | Four Seasons in a Day | Annabel Verbeke | Belgium, Norway, Croatia, Lithuania |
| Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song | Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song | Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine | United States |
| John Farrow: Hollywood's Man in the Shadows | John Farrow: Hollywood's Man in the Shadows | Claude Gonzalez, Frans Vandenburg | Australia |
| The Last Hillbilly | The Last Hillbilly | Diane Sara Bouzgarrou, Thomas Jenkoe | France, Qatar |
| The Last Shelter | Le dernier refuge | Ousmane Samassekou | France, Mali, South Africa |
| Le temps perdu | El tiempo perdido | María Álvarez | Argentina |
| Like the Wind | Like the Wind | Ted McDonnell | Australia, Hong Kong |
| The Lost Leonardo | The Lost Leonardo | Andreas Koefoed | Denmark, France, Sweden |
| The Magnitude of All Things | The Magnitude of All Things | Jennifer Abbott | Canada |
| Mariner of the Mountains | Marinheiro das montanhas | Karim Aïnouz | Brazil, France, Germany |
| President | President | Camilla Nielsson | Denmark, United States, Norway |
| Radiograph of a Family | Radiograph of a Family | Firouzeh Khosrovani | Norway, Iran, Switzerland |
| The Rescue | The Rescue | Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | United States, United Kingdom |
| The Seeds of Vandana Shiva | The Seeds of Vandana Shiva | James Becket, Camilla Becket | Australia, United States |
| The Story of Film: A New Generation | The Story of Film: A New Generation | Mark Cousins | United Kingdom |
| Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street | Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street | Marilyn Agrelo | United States |
| Taming the Garden | მოთვინიერება | Salomé Jashi | Switzerland, Germany, Georgia |
| When a City Rises | When a City Rises | Iris Kwong, Ip Kar Man, Cathy Chu, Han Yan Yuen, Huang Yuk-kwok, Jenn Lee, Evie Cheung | Hong Kong |
| White Cube | White Cube | Renzo Martens | Netherlands, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium |
| Writing with Fire | Writing with Fire | Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas | India |

### Europe! Voices of Women in Film

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| From the Wild Sea | Fra det vilde hav | Robin Petré | Denmark |
| Green Sea | Πράσινη Θάλασσα | Angeliki Antoniou | Greece, Germany |
| Hive | Zgjoi | Blerta Basholli | Kosovo, Switzerland, North Macedonia, Albania |
| How to Kill a Cloud | Näin pilvet kuolevat | Tuija Halttunen | Finland, Denmark |
| Last Days of Spring | La última primavera | Isabel Lamberti | Netherlands, Spain |
| Nico | Nico | Eline Gehring | Germany |
| Pleasure | Pleasure | Ninja Thyberg | Sweden, Netherlands, France |
| Reconciliation | Odpuščanje | Marija Zidar | Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo |
| Slalom | Slalom | Charlène Favier | France |
| Why Not You | Hochwald | Evi Romen | Austria, Belgium |

### First Nations

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| Araatika: Rise Up! | Araatika: Rise Up! | Larissa Behrendt | Australia |
| The Bowraville Murders | The Bowraville Murders | Allan Clarke | Australia |
| Night Raiders | Night Raiders | Danis Goulet | Canada, New Zealand |
| Wild Indian | Wild Indian | Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. | United States |

### Freak Me Out

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
| The Beta Test | The Beta Test | Jim Cummings, PJ McCabe | United States, United Kingdom |
| Censor | Censor | Prano Bailey-Bond | United Kingdom |
| Gaia | Gaia | Jaco Bouwer | South Africa |
| The Spine of Night | The Spine of Night | Philip Gelatt, Morgan Galen King | United States |
| Wyrmwood: Apocalypse | Wyrmwood: Apocalypse | Kiah Roache-Turner | Australia |

## Awards

The following awards were presented at the festival:
* Sydney Film Prize: There Is No Evil by Mohammad Rasoulof
* Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award: Karina Holden
* Documentary Australia Award for Australian Documentary: I'm Wanita by Matthew Walker
* Sustainable Future Award: Burning by Eva Orner
* Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films
** Dendy Live Action Short Award: Peeps by Sophie Somerville
** Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director: Taylor Ferguson for tough
** Yoram Gross Animation Award: Freedom Swimmer by Olivia Martin-McGuire

### Audience Awards

The following films won the Audience Awards, voted by the festival audience.

#### Best Narrative Feature Top Five

* Beautiful Minds by Bernard Campan and Alexandre Jollien
* Wyrmwood: Apocalypse by Kiah Roache-Turner
* Here Out West by Fadia Abboud, Lucy Gaffy, Julie Kalceff, Ana Kokkinos, and Leah Purcell
* Friends and Strangers by James Vaughan
* Quo Vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Žbanić

#### Best Documentary Top Five

* Blind Ambition by Robert Coe and Warwick Ross
* I'm Wanita by Matthew Walker
* When the Camera Stopped Rolling by Jane Castle
* The Seeds of Vandana Shiva by James Becket and Camilla Becket
* Araatika: Rise Up! by Larissa Behrendt and Ithaka by Ben Lawrence