Film festival shifts focus

Virtual hero: Sydney Film Festival director Nashen Moodley.

Danielle McGrane

A round this time every year, people from all over the world flock to Sydney for the Sydney Film Festival.

It’s a chance to see cutting edge cinema and get up close and personal with filmmakers, which is a film lover’s dream.

But this year, of course, will be different.

“As soon as the restriction on gatherings of 500 people came in, it was clear that we could not present the festival in cinemas,” Sydney Film Festival director Nashen Moodley said.

Like so many other events, the Sydney Film Festival was cancelled. However, it didn’t take long for organisers to come up with an alternative.

“We were determined to try to support the film industry in whatever way we could,” Moodley said.

It didn’t take long for the 67th Sydney Film Festival: Virtual Edition and Awards program to be born.

Moodley and his team found a secure streaming platform, New Zealand’s Shift72, then Moodley set about curating an online festival.

“It’s a much smaller program. Usually we show close to 300 films and this time we’ll show 33 films,” he said.

But instead of having to be in Sydney, this time anyone with an internet connection can view what the film festival has on offer.

“We will have introductions to every film by every filmmaker and we will have Q&As with all the feature-length films in the program,” Moodley said.

For one month, 40 of the best movies that have featured in the Sydney Film Festival over the years will also be available to view on SBS On Demand, curated by the festival director.

It was a tough choice but Moodley established a criteria that helped him narrow down his selection.

“I wanted some sort of geographical diversity. I wanted a mixture of things that are funny, things that are very serious, political films, emotional films, a few films that are suitable for the whole family and for children,” he said.

“And then I just chose some of my favourite films.”

Sydney Film Festival Selects, SBS On Demand, until July 10. Tickets for the Sydney Film Festival: Virtual Edition and Awards are available at sff.org.au