Sydney Film Festival 2010

After Banky's Exit Through the Gift Shop and Four Lions, here are our other top picks from this year's Sydney Film Festival.
 

The Game of Death

Dir Christopher Nick & Thomas Bornot

This confronting documentary replicates the infamous Milgram experiments of the 1960s, in which people were instructed to administer electrical shocks to strangers. Camouflaged as a game show, participants are invited to shock fellow contestants when they answer incorrectly, while psychologists analyse the results. Fri 11 Jun, 6.30pm & Sun 13 Jun, 5pm, Event Cinemas George Street.

Dir Roman Polanski

The Ghost Writer has been acclaimed as one of Polanski's best films - strong praise for the director of Chinatown and The Pianist. The movie follows a writer (Ewan McGregor) who uncovers a dark secret when he is hired by a former British PM (Pierce Brosnan) to pen his memoirs after the previous ghost writer's death. Sun 13 Jun, 9.30pm, State Theatre; Mon 14 Jun, 4.45pm, Event Cinemas George Street.

Full review

Dir Luca Guadagnino

This gorgeous Italian-language melodrama stars Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton, proving herself not just an amazing screen presence but a talented linguist. It's a tale of family and infidelity as Emma (Swinton), the wife of a textiles magnate, falls for her son's friend, a promising chef. Fans of Luchino Visconti and Douglas Sirk will be in heaven. Fri 11 Jun, 9pm, State Theatre & Sun 3 Jun, 4pm, Dendy Opera Quays.

Tilda Swinton - interview

Full review

Dir Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg

Comedy legend Rivers has spent half a century entertaining and outraging on both the small and the silver screen. This behind-the-scenes biopic examines the life of this brassy dame, from her stand-up origins to the glamour and glitz of the red carpet, with plenty of caustic input from the star herself. Sun 6 Jun, 2.30pm, State Theatre; Sat 12 Jun, 6.45pm, Event Cinemas George Street.

Dir Oren Moverman

A powerfully moving film about the after-effects of war, The Messenger netted an Academy Award nod for Woody Harrelson. Will (Ben Foster) is sent home from Iraq and paired with an older soldier Tony (Woody Harrelson), whose job is to deliver the bad news to the families of fallen soldiers. Sun 6 Jun, 6.15pm & Fri 11 Jun, 8.45pm, Dendy Opera Quays.

Full review

Dir Kathryn Bigelow

Before her Oscar win for The Hurt Locker, before Keanu and Patrick tore up the waves in Point Break, Kathryn Bigelow was dealing with blood suckers in the American South. Near Dark follows Caleb, a farm boy who gets mixed up with a nomadic vampire family. This 1987 film is a highlight of the festival's vampire retrospective. Thu 3 Jun, 9pm, Event Cinemas George Street.

Dir Isabella Rossellini

After the success of her web series Green Porno, Isabella Rossellini returns to the world of animal sexuality with a new pair of shorts titled Seduce Me, examining the mating rituals of ducks, snakes, salmon, cuttlefish and insects. They're screening with Guy Maddin's experimental vampire flick Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary. Sun 13 Jun, 7pm, Sydney Opera House.

Dir Matt Whitecross

Ian Dury (played to foul-mouthed perfection by Andy Serkis) overcame a childhood battle with polio that left him crippled to front the Blockheads, a cult British band, and pen hit songs including ‘Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick'. This film is a must-see for lovers of British pop music. Wed 2 Jun, 6.30pm & Fri 4 Jun, 8.30pm, Event Cinemas George Street.

Full review

Dir Shirley Barrett

She arrived with a splash in 1996 with Love Serenade, a magic realist gem starring Miranda Otto. Now Barrett reteams with Otto for her first feature film in a decade - a playful romantic drama set on a remote island in the 1920s. Marton Csokas and Otto's dad Barry also star. South Solitary opens the festival with an option to attend the gala after party (an extra $60). Wed 2 Jun, 7.30pm, State Theatre.

Dir Christian Frei

All that stands between you and the final frontier is $20 million. Christian Frei's documentary focuses on Anousheh Ansari, the first woman to buy an eight-day jaunt aboard the International Space Station, as well as the effect the Russian Cosmonaut programme has had on the settlements surrounding the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Mon 7 Jun, 4.45pm, Dendy Opera Quays; Fri 11 Jun, 12.15pm. State Theatre.