By Morgan Hind
The Sydney Film Festival (SFF) has appointed internationally renowned feature film directors Shirley Barrett and Yonfan to its official competition jury.
Australia’s Shirley Barrett is perhaps best known for her 1996 debut feature Love Serenade, which won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Her most recent feature film, South Solitary, will have its world premiere at this year's SFF opening night.
Yonfan is one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated directors, with his most recent film Prince of Tears being selected as Hong Kong’s official Academy Awards entry. The film will also have its Australian premiere at the SFF.
The NSW Government through Events NSW is supporting the SFF Jury Prize for the third year, contributing a $60,000 prize which is awarded to a work that is "courageous, audacious and cutting-edge".
The 12 films in official competition are: Four Lions; Heartbeats; How I Ended This Summer; If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle; The Killer Inside Me; Life During Wartime; Lola; Moloch Tropical; The Tree; Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives; Wasted on the Young and Women Without Men.
Barrett and Yonfan will join jury president (and producer), Jan Chapman, and director of the Sundance Film Festival, John Cooper, on the panel. The fifth and final jury member will be announced prior to the festival.
The 57th Sydney Film Festival will run from June 2 – 14.