Sydney Film Festival fans have been given a sneak peek of what’s to come, with a teaser of the 2011 program being released today.
Twenty-three of the SFF’s 120 film lineup have been revealed, including three that have been entered in the Official Competition.
“We’re very pleased with how everything is shaping up this year,” says festival director Clare Stewart.
According to Stewart, sourcing films for the festival began last September, with trips to the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
With a selection pool of roughly 1500 films, choosing the right films can be difficult.
“There’s a certain amount of intuition that goes with it,” says Stewart. “It’s about whether the film actually succeeds on its own terms and whether it’ll succeed for its audience.”
As part of the teaser, films from the festival’s various viewing pathways have been released.
British actor Paddy Considine’s directorial debut Tyrannosaur – which picked up Best Director at Sundance – will play as part of ‘Push Me to the edge, while Tucker & Dale vs Evil – a splatstick film about a pair of kind-hearted hillbillies and their encounter with a group of college students – features in the ‘Freak Me Out’ pathway.
Official Competition entrant Norwegian Wood – Laotian filmmaker Tran Anh Hung’s adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel – was scored by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.
Stewart is also looking forward to the world premiere of interactive 3D installation Scenario – a cinematic role play game based on the disturbing case of Josef Fritzl.
Five players at a time will take part in the UNSW based exhibition, which will involve reassembling dismembered body parts.
“It’s cutting edge,” Stewart says. “I think it will really inform the age of 3D cinema.”
Participants under the age of 18 will not be admitted.
For more about the 2011 lineup, visit the SFF website