Sydney Film Festival has partnered with Australia’s most distinctive streaming service SBS On Demand to present Sydney Film Festival Selects. Curated by Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley, the movie collection features 40 superb Sydney Film Festival titles for Australians to binge, anytime, anywhere, for free, from 10 June to 10 July.
SBS Director of Television and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said: “Australians are turning to TV now more than ever to keep us entertained while we’re spending more time at home. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Sydney Film Festival to provide audiences a virtual environment to enjoy the best of cinema from the comfort of your sofa, free of charge. Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley’s expertise in curating films means this handpicked collection will satiate all audiences, whatever you preference – from Australian dramas to international romantic comedies to heartfelt family sagas.”
Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley, said: “We are thrilled to partner with SBS On Demand to present this eclectic line-up of great films from the Festival’s past line-ups. During this challenging time, we hope to unite and inspire audiences, transporting them all over the world, through the shared experience of film.”
Highlights include the wildly emotional Academy Award-nominated Belgian drama The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012), Studio Ghibli’s stunning animated fantasy fable The Red Turtle (2016), winner of the Best Australian Documentary category at the Sydney Film Festival last year She Who Must Be Loved (2018) and the quietly powerful triptych Certain Women (2016) starring Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart and Michelle Williams. Some more information on these highlights can be viewed below.
For the list of titles in SBS On Demand’s Sydney Film Festival Selects collection, go to https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/sydney-film-festival
THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
This 2012 Belgian drama was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, won Best Foreign Film at the 39th Cesar Awards and won the 2013 Lux Prize. Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He’s a romantic atheist, she’s a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill, their love is put on trial.
CERTAIN WOMEN
Starring Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams and Lily Gladstone, this 2016 film is based on three short stories from Maile Meloy’s collections. Four women strive to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest. Laura is a lawyer who finds herself contending with both office sexism and a hostage situation. Gina is a wife and mother whose determination to build her dream home puts her at odds with the men in her life. And Beth is a young law student who forms an ambiguous bond with a lonely ranch hand. As their stories intersect in subtle but powerful ways, a portrait emerges of flawed yet strong-willed individuals in the process of defining themselves.
THE RED TURTLE
Produced by Studio Ghibli, The Red Turtle is a 2016 animated fantasy film about a stranded castaway who reflects on what’s most important in life: companionship, love, family, and the stewardship of nature. The film has no dialogue and was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
RAFIKI
Directed by Wanuri Kahiu, Rafiki is a 2018 Kenyan film that explores a romance between two young women amidst family and political pressures. The saying goes that good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives, but Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
With over 8,000 hours of content available, SBS On Demand gives Australians free, unlimited access to thousands of the world’s best programs and movies: sbs.com.au/ondemand.
