From the enthralling right-here-right-now spirit of a film festival, to the height of comfort and accessibility that is your living room: this year’s Sydney Film Festival has been democratised, bringing world-class movies to home viewers. The Festival’s 2020 lineup of features, shorts and documentaries from Australia and all around the world has been undaunted by the coronavirus, with many great titles still available to check out via their website.
But now, on top of that selection, the Sydney Film Festival has teamed up with SBS On Demand to release some of the festival’s most beloved movies in recent memory, comprising 40 examples of SFF’s diverse and exciting programming. Available from June 10 to July 10, the curated selection, named Sydney Film Festival Selects, was put together by festival director Nashen Moodley, and features Oscar-nominated international films alongside under-seen gems from the last decade.
Some of the unmissable films including Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, a Best Foreign Language Oscar winner and a bruising domestic drama; Let The Right One In, an unforgettable Swedish vampire story; Turkish coming-of-age drama Mustang, which could make a rock cry; and The Lunchbox, a sweet Indian indie starring the late Irrfan Khan.
Sydney Film Festival Selects is the first time some of these more recent selections are available to watch for free, especially buzzed-about Aussie releases like She Who Must Be Loved, a celebrated documentary about the life and work of Indigenous filmmaker Alfreda Glynn. There’s also the hip lesbian love story Rafiki, a film that was received warmly at Cannes but banned from release in its native Kenya.
Excitingly enough, all films will be accompanied by bonus material exclusively created by SBS Movies, including filmmaker interviews, critic reviews, and “Dinner and A Movie” ideas (dishes to pair with films in the program, with recipes supplied by SBS Food). If having an extra special night in sounds good to you, all of these films, their bonus features, and many more pleasant surprises are available to watch for free, albeit with a couple of ad breaks, via the SBS On Demand website.
