James Walsh talks to the director of ‘A Hundred Years of Happiness’ about blending in as a documentary filmmaker, and using an observational approach to allow his young Vietnamese female subject to speak for herself.
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Sketch & Study: ‘A Year Full of Drama’
Marta Pulk documents a teen’s shifting sense of self, as she is tasked with watching 224 plays in 365 days.
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Review: ‘Descent’ is a Cathartic Deep Dive That Takes Your Breath Away
Nays Baghai crafts an empathetic portrait of ice freediver Kiki Bosch, exploring how the traumas of her past led her to the extreme sport.
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Review: ‘Rosemary’s Way’ Introduces Audiences to the Australian Hero We Need Right Now
It’s hard not to fall for the community spirit and gentle charms of Ros Horin’s sophomore documentary feature.
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Review: Superstition as Anesthesia in ‘Zana’
Set in the aftermath of the Kosovo war, Antoneta Kastrati explores the stigmatisation of female psychology in her unflinching narrative debut.
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Review: ‘Sea Fever’ is a Moody Deep-Sea Sci-Fi
Watery characterisation and borrowed genre tropes leave this thriller down among the dead men.
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Sydney Film Festival 2020 Shorts Round-Up: Animation
Although ‘GNT’ and ‘The Quiet’ are animated, they’re far from two-dimensional.
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Sydney Film Festival 2020 Shorts Round-Up: Live-Action
‘Her Own Music’, ‘Mukbang’, and ‘Idol’ tell their stories of adolescence and social media madness sensitively – and quickly.
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Translating Between Two Worlds: An Interview with Nays Baghai
Michelle Wang speaks with the director of ‘Descent’ about the physical and psychological journey of filming an underwater exploration of the soul.
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The Illusions of Idolatry: An Interview with Alex Wu
Ahead of ‘Idol’’s Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, Alex Wu talks about his short film, the one-take structure, and being influenced by Lee Chang-Dong and Asghar Farhadi.
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Review: ‘The Weather Diaries’ Speaks to Parenting in an Environmental Crisis
In her documentary, Kathy Drayton affectingly examines the climate crisis in Australia and its influence on her relationship with her daughter.
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Review: ‘A Hundred Years of Happiness’ is a Marriage of Unfulfilled Potential and Slow Storytelling
Jakeb Anhvu’s observational documentary can feel more like an exercise in aesthetics than the fascinating cultural study it promises.
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Art After Artisan: An Interview with Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
André Shannon talks to Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki about his new film Saturday Afternoon in the aftermath of Holey Artisan Bakery, censorship, and how to move forward after calamity.
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Populism Projected in The Brink and Reason
Faraaz Rahman examines truth and accountability in two documentaries charting the rise of populism.
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Scars as a Work of Art: An Interview with Dirty God’s Vicky Knight and Sacha Polak
At the Sydney Film Festival, André Shannon talks to actress Vicky Knight and director Sacha Polak about tattoos, electronica, and making survivor films.
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Review: Monos
This chaotically evocative thriller is a sensory, obscure look at a unit of child soldiers set on a faraway Columbian mountaintop.
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Review: The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn deftly navigate conflict and compassion between two Indigenous women with unparalleled care and intimacy.
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Review: Jesus
Japanese director Hiroshi Okuyama’s debut looks at a religious experience through a child’s eyes.
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Weird the Whole Way: An Interview with Ladyworld’s Amanda Kramer
At the Sydney Film Festival, Ivana Brehas talks to writer-director Amanda Kramer about writing, weirdness, and womanhood.
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Review: Depraved
Larry Fessenden’s human tale of broken bodies updates the Frankenstein story for the 21st century.
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Find What Affects You: An Interview With RJ Mitte
Ahead of Standing Up For Sunny’s premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, Ivana Brehas spoke with RJ Mitte about mental health, the Australian film industry, and kung-fu movies.
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Revolt Against The System: An Interview with Slam’s Partho Sen Gupta
Ahead of Slam’s premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, Claire Cao talks to director Partho Sen-Gupta about racial microaggressions, the rousing power of Bankstown Poetry Slam, and the strength of mothers all over the world.
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Community and Country: An Interview with Emu Runner’s Imogen Thomas
At the Sydney Film Festival, Tansy Gardam talks to director Imogen Thomas about her debut feature, community collaboration, and filming in remote Australia.
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Review: Her Smell
Elisabeth Moss is a riot (grrrl) in a dizzying and exhausting portrait of punk infamy.
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Review: Animals
Animals plays out like a memory: within the wine-fueled haze of love won, love lost, and uncertainty, you might just find yourself.
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Review: One Child Nation
Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang transform the political to personal as they lay bare the effects of China’s one child policy.
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Review: The Heart Dances
Kiwi filmmaker Rebacca Tansley offers an empathetic look at the conflict between different cultural and artistic perspectives during the production of a ballet in New Zealand.
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The Spaces Between: An Interview with Imogen McCluskey and Béatrice Barbeau-Scurla
At the Sydney Film Festival, Michael Sun talks to first-time Aussie filmmakers Imogen McCluskey and Béatrice Barbeau-Scurla about Australian suburbia on film, queer narratives, and… James Charles.
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Review: The Miracle of the Little Prince
A documentary on Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s beloved children’s classic thoughtfully breaks down language barriers.
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Review: Monrovia, Indiana
Veteran documentarian Frederick Wiseman stitches together a covertly political portrait of a conservative town in rural America.
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Review: Up the Mountain
A visually immaculate look at those living inside a Chinese mountain village immerses itself in the pleasures of creation.
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Sydney Film Festival 2019: Top Picks
The Rough Cut team are here to help you compile the must-sees of the Sydney Film Festival, which have unveiled their biggest program yet.
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Review: High Life
Claire Denis’ ambitious first English-language flight into space is brought crashing down by glaringly conventional representational issues.
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