Internationally acclaimed director Mostafa Sarwar Farooki has joined the Official Competition Jury of the Sydney Film Festival (SFF) 2022, which will award the Sydney Film Prize to one of the 12 titles in the Official Competition, alongside the first slate of stars and filmmaker guests to attend the Festival, which runs from 8-19 June.
Apart from writer-director-producer Mostofa Sarwar Farooki other members of the Jury are: acclaimed actor/director David Wenham (Australia), who will also be Jury President, BAFTA-nominated writer and director Jennifer Peedom (Australia), Berlin Golden Bear-winning writer-director-producer Semih Kaplanoğlu (Turkey), and the Executive Director of the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, Tokyo, Yuka Sakano (Japan).
Now in its 13th year, the internationally recognised Official Competition recognises courageous, audacious and cutting-edge film. The winner of the Sydney Film Prize will be announced at the Festival’s Closing Night ceremony at the State Theatre on Sunday 19 June.
Archibald-Prize winning Australian artist Del Kathryn Barton will introduce her Official Competition feature Blaze, a magical story of a teenager who witnesses a brutal crime.
Also attending SFF to present the premiere of their films in competition will be: French-Cambodian writer-director Davy Chou (Return to Seoul); Venezuelan director and co-writer Lorenzo Vigas (The Box); Irish writer-director Colm Bairéad (The Quiet Girl); Bolivian director Alejandro Loayza Grisi (Utama); Australian producer Kristina Ceyton (You Won’t Be Alone) and Indonesian film star Happy Salma (Before, Now & Then).
The 2021 Sydney Film Prize was awarded to There Is No Evil, by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. -
Screen Hub