Sydney Film Festival 2006 Quick Reference Guide
Free Industry Forums and Free Events

The Sydney Film Festival opens Friday, 9 June and once again there will be a program of free forums and free events aimed at the film & television industry. Events listed below are free and open to all. Please join us to meet filmmakers and other commentators and discuss issues being debated within the film community.

TUESDAY 13 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre, 49 Market Street, City)
Where Are the Stories of Islamic People on Our Screens?
The Festival is screening a strong program of films from the Middle East and North Africa,  few will make it into commercial release or onto television screens. Does the film and TV industry have an anti-Islamic bias, or do they merely reflect the fears and prejudices of their audiences? How hard is it to make a film which takes an alternative view, how complicated is it to navigate the cultural, political, and religious sensitivities in making their films? Panellists include Richard Brennan (Chair), Tom Zubrycki (director, Molly and Mobarak, Exile in Sarajevo), Jane Jeffs (Silma¹s School).

TUESDAY 13 JUNE
4.30pm-5.30pm, Reel Room, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
Meet The Filmmaker: Gisela Camara (director, Brazil) and Alicia Scherson (director, Chile)
In recent years there has been an explosion in Latin American cinema with Latin films and documentaries playing to critical acclaim at festivals around the world. Meet Alicia Scherson, winner of the Award for Best New Narrative for Play at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and Gisela Camara¹s (Teen Mothers) and enjoy complimentary sangria in this celebration of Latin American cinema. Presented in association with the Council on Australia Latin American Relations.

WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE
5.45pm ­ 7.10pm, Dendy Opera Quays
THE 26TH IAN MCPHERSON MEMORIAL LECTURE:
Television at 50 - Growing Old Disgracefully, or Is the Best Yet to Come?
Television is 50 years old in Australia. This year's McPherson Lecture uses the occasion to look back over the broadcast era and forward to a digital future. Right now is a fascinating time in television history, a tipping point between established players and new energies. Presenter John Hartley (Creative Industries, Reading Television) is an internationally renowned educator, author and commentator on the content, history and cultural impact of television, journalism and new media.

THURSDAY 15 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
The Disappearing Director - Is There a Place in the Digital Interactive World?
The director's role is becoming less defined, not only in relation to conventional screen production, but even more in relation to new media spaces. Can someone really be called a director without the creative and aesthetic control of an entire work? Is there a place for a director in the interactive world? Presented in association with the Australian Screen Directors Association (ASDA).

FRIDAY 16 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
'You Can't Say That Here!' - Are Our Filmmakers Under Threat from Sedition Laws?
Are our freedoms being whittled away? Many believe that the ability of filmmakers to make films with a direct political message is an essential part of the democratic process. They see Australia's sedition laws posing an unreasonable threat to our freedom of speech and expression. Panellists: Richard Neville (social commentator), Margaret Pomeranz (ABC At The Movies), Richard Harris (ASDA) and Raena Lee-Shannon (entertainment lawyer).  

MONDAY 19 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
Style and Sensibility in the Cinematic Underworld of Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean-Pierre Melville is the the subject of this year¹s retrospective. An inspiration to Tarantino and John Woo, his romantic, tough and rigorous films, his ineffable style, his distinctive filmmaking practice, and the many connections that surround his work, will be discussed by season curator Dr. Adrian Danks, Dr. Hamish Ford (UNSW), Dan Edwards (AFC, Communications Branch) and Susan Murphy (Chair).

SUNDAY 18 JUNE
4.30pm-5.30pm, Reel Room, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
Meet The Filmmaker: Chris Sheridan (USA) & Patty Kim (USA)
Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim are a husband and wife directing team who won the top prize at the New York Independent Film & Video Festival in 2004 for Destiny. Their latest documentary, Abduction, is produced by Australia¹s Jane Campion.

MONDAY 19 JUNE
4.30pm-5.30pm, Reel Room, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
Meet The Filmmaker: Andrew Bujalski (USA)
With two utterly distinctive features under his belt (Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation ­ both Australian premieres at this year¹s festival), Andrew Bujalski is emerging as arguably the major new voice in US independent cinema. The recipient of the Independent Spirit Awards ŒSomeone To Watch¹ Award, Bujalski has worked as a teacher, freelance writer, an office temp and bookstore clerk. The Boston Globe describes Bujalski as Œunerringly polite and somewhat dishevelled¹ and Cinemascope writes 'Bujalski is making what may prove to be the defining movies about a generation.¹  Convenor: George Merryman

TUESDAY 20 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
Is There a Future for Australian TV Drama?
Neighbours may be celebrating its twentieth year, and McLeod's Daughters renewed for a seventh season, but Blue Heelers ends its run this week and a recent raft of cancellations has caused much concern.  Everyone knows there is a problem, but opinions differ widely as to what has brought it about and how it can be solved. Does the solution involve content, structures, audiences, financing, technological change, or even all of these? A panel of TV drama makers and commentators will canvass these issues. Panel includes Simon Hopkinson (Chair), Lynn Gailey (MEAA), Graham Thorburn (AFTRS) and Faith Martin (agent). Presented in association with the Australian Writers¹ Guild (AWG).

TUESDAY 20 JUNE
5.15pm ­ 7.15pm, Tank Nightclub, 3 Bridge Lane, City
Guy and Mark¹s Excellent Digital Adventure
A live session of clips, quips and insights with Guy Gadeny (Director of Content Production, BigPond) and Mark Strong (New Media Manager, Network Ten). They have travelled far and wide on terra digitalus to become our digital jewellers, picking out the gems. Their criteria was simple ­ they picked what they liked, it had to come from the internet and it could not be porn.

WEDNESDAY 21 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
A Shift in Perception? High Definition, Digital Filmmaking and the Aesthetics of Cinema
Digital technology has not only made dramatic changes to the way films are made, it has dramatically changed the way we see them.  How does this affect the way in which practitioners and audiences actually perceive film? Does it change the actual aesthetics of cinema? Panellists include director, cinematographer and editor Ray Argall (MDA, Seachange), Ian Brown (Moulin Rouge, Lord of the Rings) and Ian Jones (DOP, Ten Canoes). Chair: Julian Wood

THURSDAY 22 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
Creative Independence and How to Keep It
While the independent film revolution gives filmmakers the chance to make their own creative choices, they often have to make compromises and economies in time, budget and quality, which may affect that creative independence. Is working outside the system the best way to achieve their creative ends? The panel will include some who work outside the system, some who stay outside, and some who go back and forth, & includes Australian filmmakers Matt Zereme (Burke and Wills), Margot Nash (Call Me Mum) and international guest Danny Lerner (director, Israel, Frozen Days). Chair: Ruth Hessey. Presented in association with the Screen Producers Association of Australian (SPAA) and the Australian Screen Directors Association (ASDA).

FRIDAY 23 JUNE
2.30pm ­ 4.30pm, World Movies Festival Lounge (next to State Theatre)
Unfolding  Florence
The Sydney Film Festival is proud to close the Festival forums with a special seminar on the documentary Unfolding Florence, presented in association with Women In Film & Television WIFT.

FRIDAY 9 JUNE ­ THURSDAY 15 JUNE
8am-7pm weekdays, 10-4 Saturday, 12-4pm Sunday (Closed Mon 12), Customs House, Circular Quay
Free Exhibition: A Snapshot of 60 Years of Documentary
To coincide with the 60th anniversary celebrations of Film Australia, a selection of 100 extraordinary images from the Film Australia stills collection is on display as part of the SFF. It¹s a remarkable snapshot of Australia and our region, from the early 20th century to the present day. 

For more Info head to the SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL website.