Sydney's For Film's Sake Festival has announced a chock-a-block programme for the upcoming five-day event.
Run by the New South Wales Women in Film and Television group, the For Film's Sake (FFS) event focuses on bringing light to the discrepancies and disadvantages of minorities in the film and TV industry. Paving the way for the future of filmmaking and television production, FFS will host a wide selection of works created by women for the enjoyment of audiences crossing a variety of languages, minorities and demographics.
From Wednesday 26 to Sunday 30 April, film buffs can partake in talks by keynote speakers as well as films showing a range of works including documentaries focused on women's issues and special screenings in some of the city's unique locations. Through partnerships with community organisations, this event will be unlike any other film festival, potentially shifting views surrounding women in the industry.
“We have married the best of film to experiences that challenge audiences to engage with female-generated content in new ways, and to understand the need for equality as an audience-generated concept. I want audiences to come to FFS and watch, dance, listen, fight and believe that we can all do our part to achieving true diversity in screen,” FFS Festival Director Sophie Mathisen says.
'All About E'FFS will open with a keynote speech by Anna Serner, known internationally for her passion for gender equality in film. After appearances as a speaker at film festivals worldwide including none other than the famed Cannes Film Festival, this is her first visit to Australian shores.
Following a first-night welcome party, the second day will see Darling Harbour's most apt location of the Chinese Garden of Friendship screening 'Beijing Being' which tells the story of girl discovering herself in the Chinese capital. Other notable screenings include documentary 'Play Your Gender' regarding music industry sexism and cult classic doco 'Hell Bento' exploring underground Japanese counter-culture with a director's Q&A to follow.
The highlight of Friday will undoubtedly be the after-dark events kicking off with 'No Lights No Lycra' class with the music of Beyonce and other music queens, with documentary 'Waiting for B' to follow. The light-hearted film, about the Queen B's dedicated fans follows a group who stake out a São Paulo stadium for eight weeks to secure front-row access to Beyonce's show.
'Burqa Boxers'Both Saturday and Sunday's schedules will host a number of Australian premieres including 'Frisky' a documentary made for a mere $5,000 in San Francisco, along with the Sydney premiere of 'Supergirl', the true-story of a nine-year-old girl who breaks a powerlifting world record and thrusts her and her family into news headlines. In addition, Saturday night will make the ultimate Fright Night with the screening of two female horror films!
To cap off the event and symbolising the fight for equality in the film industry, the final evening has been named 'Fight Night', which will show ground-breaking documentary 'Burqa Boxers', recently screened at Mumbai International Film Festival, as well as 'Girl Night', the debut work of Karyn Kusama.
