SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE OF CANNES HIT BROKER TO CLOSE THE 2022 FESTIVAL AS WELL AS EXCITING NEW FILMS FROM CANNES, ON SALE NOW!

The 69^th Sydney Film Festival (8-19 June), opening Wednesday, announces its Closing Night Film as well as ten fantastic new feature films coming direct from the recent Cannes Film Festival, including Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness and an outstanding documentary from this year’s Sundance and CPH:DOX, all making their Australian premiere at the Festival.

CLOSING NIGHT 

Sydney Film Festival will host the Australian Premiere of Broker, direct from the Cannes Competition, a tender drama by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, SFF 2018) as the Closing Night Film at the State Theatre on Sunday 19 June.

Broker features 2022 Cannes Best Actor winner Song Kang-ho (Parasite, SFF 2019) in a delightful and heart-breaking tale of a pair who illegally take an abandoned infant from a ‘baby box’ facility (a place where mothers can safely abandon newborns) with the intention of finding the child a good home themselves. When the mother unexpectedly returns, they form a trio and embark on a journey to seek new parents for the baby.

Written and directed by Palme d’Or winning filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, in his first Korean language feature, starring some of Korea’s biggest stars, including singer-actress IU (Lee Ji Eun), Bae Doona, Gang Dong-won and Lee Joo-young.

“Broker is a film about family and connection so we are delighted to present it as our Closing Night Film. After the past two trying years, it’s the perfect film to celebrate finally being able to gather together, in person and with our loved ones,” Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley said. “We are excited to welcome back the work of Hirozaku Kore-eda, and his feature that is brimming with international talent, as part of our full-fledged return to the in-cinema spectacle of our Closing Night Gala.”

The Closing Night Gala will include an awards ceremony announcing the winners of the Sydney Film Prize, the Documentary Australia Award, the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films, the Sustainable Future Award, the Deutsche Bank Fellowship for First Nations Film Creatives, the Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award and the inaugural AFTRS Craft Award.

NEW FILMS

Sydney Film Festival has announced new films added to its program including ten of the best films direct from Cannes, alongside one exciting documentary from Sundance and CPH:DOX.

“Festival audiences will be the first in the country to see Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, Swedish director Ruben Östlund’s hilarious, biting, stomach-churning satire on the mega-rich, set on a luxury cruise captained by an alcoholic Marxist, played by Woody Harrelson. Grand Prix recipient Stars at Noon also joins the program - an erotic, slow-burn espionage drama from acclaimed director Claire Denis, starring Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn,” said Festival Director Nashen Moodley.

“Un Certain Regard prize-winners will light up the Festival including the FIPRESCI Award-winning The Blue Caftan from Moroccan writer-director Maryam Touzani which will stir Festival goers with a love triangle between a young gay man and a middle-aged couple in a small Moroccan town alongside Best Screenplay Award-winning Mediterranean Fever, Palestinian filmmaker Maha Haj’s unpredictable comedy-drama about male friendship. Saim Sadiq’s daring love story Joyland, the first Pakistani film to make the Cannes Official Selection, is about a married man falling for a transgender dancer that took home the Jury Prize and Queer Palm.”

“Boy From Heaven is Tarik Saleh’s Best Screenplay-winning political thriller set in Cairo’s Al-Alzhar University examining Egypt’s religious and political institutions and Holy Spider is a provocative true-crime serial killer film set in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad starring Zar Amir Ebrahimi who won the Best Actress Award at Cannes for her role,” he said. 

“The Cannes 75th Anniversary Prize winner, Tori and Lokita, directed by SFF Official Competition 2014 winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne depicts two young African refugees as they try to make a life in Belgium. From the Cannes Director’s Fortnight comes Will-O’-The-Wisp, a randy musical romp about a queer prince who wants to become a firefighter by Portuguese writer-director João Pedro Rodrigues.”

“Also from Cannes is The Night of the 12th, a perfectly crafted, atmospheric police procedural set in Southern France, based on true events and reminiscent of Zodiac and Memories of Murder,” he said. 

“An intimate documentary direct from Sundance and CPH:DOX is Nothing Compares, charting Sinéad O’Connor’s stunning rise to fame and startling rejection of the spotlight, voiced by the determinedly non-conformist Irish singer herself.”

More 2022 Cannes Highlights already announced in the program: 

• All That Breathes | 2022 | Director: Shaunak Sen
  An intimate portrait of two brothers who devote their lives to rescuing New Delhi’s black kites. Winner of Sundance 2022 Grand Jury Prize and 2022 Cannes Golden Eye winner.
• Burning Days | 2022 | Director: Emin Alper
  Emin Alper’s (A Tale of Three Sisters, SFF 2019) riveting political thriller revolves around a prosecutor who moves to a small Turkish town and is embroiled in a political scandal. 2022 Cannes Un Certain Regard.
• Close | 2022 | Director: Lukas Dhont
  Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s (Girl, SFF 2018) stunningly beautiful examination of an intense teen friendship torn asunder. 2022 Cannes Winner Grand Prix.
• Elvis | 2022 | Director: Baz Luhrmann
  An epic rock and roll spectacular from beloved Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann exploring the life and music of Elvis Presley with his distinctive dynamism, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. Cannes 2022 selected. 
• Godland | 2022 | Director: Hlynur Pálmason
  Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason’s stunning historical drama inspired by true events, following a young Danish priest who travels to a largely unexplored part of Iceland in the late 19th century. 2022 Cannes Un Certain Regard. 
• MumLife | 2022 | Directed: Ruby Challenger
  A first time mother struggles to connect with her newborn baby and is pushed to her limits when she discovers her Insta famous bestie has organised a surprise birthday party for her. Cannes 2022 selected. 
• One Fine Morning | 2022 | Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
  Léa Seydoux stars in the sensitive, deeply personal new drama from director Mia Hansen-Løve (Things to Come, Bergman Island, SFF 2021). 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
• Return to Seoul | 2022 | Director: Davy Chou
  Davy Chou’s (Golden Slumbers, SFF 2012; Diamond Island, SFF 2017) moving, delightful film follows a young French woman’s quest to discover her Korean roots. Previously known as All the People I'll Never Be. 2022 Cannes Un Certain Regard.
• Strictly Ballroom | 1992 | Directed: Baz Luhrmann
  Baz Luhrmann’s sensational debut is one of the most beloved Australian films of all time, with this new restoration allowing audiences a chance to revisit the glittering Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Championship. 2022 Cannes Classics.
• Tchaikovsky’s Wife | 2022 | Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
  Kirill Serebrennikov’s historical drama focuses on an obsessive, one-sided love affair between the revered composer and his devoted wife. Cannes 2022 selected. 

The full Sydney Film Festival 2022 program can be found online at sff.org.au.

Sydney Film Festival runs in cinemas 8-19 June 2022. Tickets and flexipasses to Sydney Film Festival 2022 are on sale now. Please call 1300 733 733 or visit sff.org.au for more information or to book.