The 68th annual Sydney Film Festival was held from 3 to 21 November 2021. The festival, which traditionally takes place in June, was postponed to August 2021 and eventually rescheduled to be held in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film screenings were staged as a "hybrid" of in-person and digital. It marked as the first major festival following the lifting of the lockdown in New South Wales.
Anthology film Here Out West opened the festival, while Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch was the closing film. Drama film There Is No Evil won the most prestigious award, Sydney Film Prize.
Juries Sydney Film Prize The following were named as the festival juries: David Michôd, Australian writer and director – Jury President Simon Baker, Australian actor Kyas Hepworth, National Indigenous Television Head of Commissioning and Programming Maya Newell, Australian filmmaker Clara Law, Hong Kong-Australian filmmaker
Official Selection In competition The following films were selected for the main international competition: English title Original title Director(s) Production country Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc Radu Jude Romania, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Croatia Drive My Car ドライブ・マイ・カー Ryusuke Hamaguchi JapanThe Drover's Wife Leah Purcell Australia Flee Flugt Jonas Poher Rasmussen Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway The Hand of God È stata la mano di Dio Paolo Sorrentino ItalyLimbo Ben Sharrock United KingdomMemoria Apichatpong Weerasethakul Colombia, Thailand, United Kingdom, Mexico, France, Germany, QatarPetite Maman Céline Sciamma FranceQuo Vadis, Aida? Jasmila Žbanić Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Norway, Turkey The Story of My Wife A feleségem története Ildikó Enyedi Hungary, Germany, Italy, France There Is No Evil شیطان وجود ندارد Mohammad Rasoulof Iran, Germany, CzechiaUndine Christian Petzold Germany, France
Highlighted title indicates Sydney Film Prize winner.
Documentary Australia Foundation Award English title Original title Director(s)The Bowraville Murders Allan ClarkeThe Department Sascha Ettinger EpsteinA Fire Inside Justin Krook, Luke MazzaferroI'm Wanita Matthew WalkerIncarceration Nation Dean GibsonIthaka Ben LawrenceThe Kids Eddie MartinStrong Female Lead Tosca LoobyTelevision Event Jeff DanielsUnder the Volcano Gracie OttoUnseen Skies Yaara Bou MelhemWhen the Camera Stopped Rolling Jane Castle
Special Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production countryBergman Island Mia Hansen-Løve France, Belgium, Germany, SwedenBlue Bayou Justin Chon United StatesBosch & Rockit Tyler Atkins AustraliaBurning Eva Orner Australia Great Freedom Große Freiheit Sebastian Meise Austria, Germany Lingui, The Sacred Bonds Lingui Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Chad, France, Belgium, Germany Love Songs for Tough Guys Cette musique ne joue pour personne Samuel Benchetrit France, Belgium Parallel Mothers Madres paralelas Pedro Almodóvar Spain Paris, 13th District Les Olympiades Jacques Audiard FranceThe Power of the Dog Jane Campion New Zealand, AustraliaRiver Jennifer Peedom AustraliaTitane Julia Ducournau France, BelgiumWash My Soul in the River's Flow Philippa Bateman Australia The Worst Person in the World Verdens verste menneske Joachim Trier Norway, France, Sweden, DenmarkZola Janicza Bravo United States
Features English title Original title Director(s) Production countryAfter Love Aleem Khan United KingdomAmparo Simón Mesa Soto Colombia, Sweden, Qatar Anaïs in Love Les Amours d'Anaïs Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet France Apples Μήλα Christos Nikou Greece, Poland, Slovenia Beginning დასაწყისი Dea Kulumbegashvili Georgia, FranceBrighton 4th Levan Koguashvili Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, Monaco, United StatesThe Card Counter Paul Schrader United States, United Kingdom, ChinaCinema Sabaya Orit Fouks Rotem Belgium Come Here ใจจำลอง Anocha Suwichakornpong Thailand Compartment No. 6 Hytti nro 6 Juho Kuosmanen Finland, Germany, Estonia A Cop Movie Una película de policías Alonso Ruizpalacios MexicoCrossing Paths JJ Winlove AustraliaCryptozoo Dash Shaw United StatesDear Evan Hansen Stephen Chbosky United States The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet El perro que no calla Ana Katz ArgentinaEl Planeta Amalia Ulman Spain, United States Erna at War Erna i krig Henrik Ruben Genz Denmark, Estonia, BelgiumThe Eyes of Tammy Faye Michael Showalter United StatesFist of Fury Noongar Daa Kylie Bracknell Hong Kong, AustraliaFriends and Strangers James Vaughan Australia The Gravedigger's Wife La femme du fossoyeur Khadar Ayderus Ahmed Finland, Germany, France A Hero قهرمان Asghar Farhadi Iran, France Hit the Road جاده خاکی Panah Panahi Iran Honey Cigar Cigare au miel Kamir Aïnouz France, Algeria, Belgium Just Like That Aise Hee Kislay Kislay IndiaThe Justice of Bunny King Gaysorn Thavat New ZealandKing Richard Reinaldo Marcus Green United States Last Film Show Chhello Show Pan Nalin IndiaLong Weekend Steve Basilone United StatesMemory Box Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige France, Lebanon, Canada, QatarMoffie Oliver Hermanus South Africa, United Kingdom My Best Part Garçon chiffon Nicolas Maury France Never Gonna Snow Again Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert Poland, GermanyNowhere Special Uberto Pasolini Italy, France One Second 一秒钟 Zhang Yimou China Pompo: The Cinéphile 映画大好きポンポさん Takayuki Hirao Japan Prayers for the Stolen Noche de fuego Tatiana Huezo Mexico, Germany, Brazil, QatarReal Aki Omoshaybi United KingdomRehana Maryam Noor Abdullah Mohammad Saad Bangladesh, Singapore, Qatar Simple Passion Passion simple Danielle Arbid France, Belgium Striding Into the Wind 野马分鬃 Wei Shujun ChinaSwan Song Todd Stephens United States The Swordsman 검객 Choi Jae-hoon South Korea A Tale of Love and Desire Une histoire d'amour et de désir Leyla Bouzid France, Tunisia True Mothers 朝が来る Naomi Kawase Japan The Tsugua Diaries Diários de Otsoga Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes Portugal Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy 偶然と想像 Ryusuke Hamaguchi JapanWhen Pomegranates Howl Granaz Moussavi Australia, AfghanistanThe Year of the Everlasting Storm Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor Castillo, David Lowery, Apichatpong Weerasethakul United States, Iran, Chile, Thailand, United Kingdom, Singapore
Special Screening English title Original title Director(s) Production countryDune Denis Villeneuve United States, Hungary, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Canada
International Documentaries English title Original title Director(s) Production countryAnonymous Club Danny Cohen AustraliaAscension Jessica Kingdon United StatesA Black Jesus Luca Lucchesi GermanyBlind Ambition Robert Coe, Warwick Ross AustraliaCity Hall Frederick Wiseman United StatesCow Andrea Arnold United KingdomThe Filmmaker's House Marc Isaacs United KingdomThe First 54 Years — An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation Avi Mograbi France, Finland, GermanyFour Seasons in a Day Annabel Verbeke Belgium, Norway, Croatia, LithuaniaHallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine United StatesJohn Farrow: Hollywood's Man in the Shadows Claude Gonzalez, Frans Vandenburg AustraliaThe Last Hillbilly Diane Sara Bouzgarrou, Thomas Jenkoe France, Qatar The Last Shelter Le dernier refuge Ousmane Samassekou France, Mali, South Africa Le temps perdu El tiempo perdido María Álvarez ArgentinaLike the Wind Ted McDonnell Australia, Hong KongThe Lost Leonardo Andreas Koefoed Denmark, France, SwedenThe Magnitude of All Things Jennifer Abbott Canada Mariner of the Mountains Marinheiro das montanhas Karim Aïnouz Brazil, France, GermanyPresident Camilla Nielsson Denmark, United States, NorwayRadiograph of a Family Firouzeh Khosrovani Norway, Iran, SwitzerlandThe Rescue Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin United States, United KingdomThe Seeds of Vandana Shiva James Becket, Camilla Becket Australia, United StatesThe Story of Film: A New Generation Mark Cousins United KingdomStreet Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Marilyn Agrelo United States Taming the Garden მოთვინიერება Salomé Jashi Switzerland, Germany, GeorgiaWhen a City Rises Iris Kwong, Ip Kar Man, Cathy Chu, Han Yan Yuen, Huang Yuk-kwok, Jenn Lee, Evie Cheung Hong KongWhite Cube Renzo Martens Netherlands, Democratic Republic of the Congo, BelgiumWriting with Fire Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas India
Europe! Voices of Women in Film English title Original title Director(s) Production country From the Wild Sea Fra det vilde hav Robin Petré Denmark Green Sea Πράσινη Θάλασσα Angeliki Antoniou Greece, Germany Hive Zgjoi Blerta Basholli Kosovo, Switzerland, North Macedonia, Albania How to Kill a Cloud Näin pilvet kuolevat Tuija Halttunen Finland, Denmark Last Days of Spring La última primavera Isabel Lamberti Netherlands, SpainNico Eline Gehring GermanyPleasure Ninja Thyberg Sweden, Netherlands, France Reconciliation Odpuščanje Marija Zidar Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, KosovoSlalom Charlène Favier France Why Not You Hochwald Evi Romen Austria, Belgium
First Nations English title Original title Director(s) Production countryAraatika: Rise Up! Larissa Behrendt AustraliaThe Bowraville Murders Allan Clarke AustraliaNight Raiders Danis Goulet Canada, New ZealandWild Indian Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. United States
Freak Me Out English title Original title Director(s) Production countryThe Beta Test Jim Cummings, PJ McCabe United States, United KingdomCensor Prano Bailey-Bond United KingdomGaia Jaco Bouwer South AfricaThe Spine of Night Philip Gelatt, Morgan Galen King United StatesWyrmwood: Apocalypse Kiah Roache-Turner Australia
Awards The following awards were presented at the festival: Sydney Film Prize: There Is No Evil by Mohammad Rasoulof Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award: Karina Holden Documentary Australia Award for Australian Documentary: I'm Wanita by Matthew Walker Sustainable Future Award: Burning by Eva Orner Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films Dendy Live Action Short Award: Peeps by Sophie Somerville Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director: Taylor Ferguson for tough Yoram Gross Animation Award: Freedom Swimmer by Olivia Martin-McGuire
Audience Awards The following films won the Audience Awards, voted by the festival audience. Best Narrative Feature Top Five Beautiful Minds by Bernard Campan and Alexandre Jollien Wyrmwood: Apocalypse by Kiah Roache-Turner Here Out West by Fadia Abboud, Lucy Gaffy, Julie Kalceff, Ana Kokkinos, and Leah Purcell Friends and Strangers by James Vaughan Quo Vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Žbanić
Best Documentary Top Five Blind Ambition by Robert Coe and Warwick Ross I'm Wanita by Matthew Walker When the Camera Stopped Rolling by Jane Castle The Seeds of Vandana Shiva by James Becket and Camilla Becket Araatika: Rise Up! by Larissa Behrendt and Ithaka by Ben Lawrence
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