The alternative opening night

lastminute lovely Angela donned her best movie critic hat and hit one of winter’s best cultural events, the Sydney Film Festival.

As one of the world’s longest-running film festivals, the Sydney Film Festival is definitely an event not to be missed. The 12-day event showcases 156 titles: 67 features, 43 documentaries, 33 short films, 13 retrospective titles, including 18 world premieres, 106 Australian premieres, 31 Australian productions and films from 51 countries in 49 languages. That’s quite a list!
The festival is split up into 10 different sections: Features, Focus on India, FOXTEL Aust. Doco. Prize, International documentaries, Official competition, Retrospectives, Short films, Sound on screen, Special presentation and Freak me out.
From the ‘Freak me out’ section I was lucky enough to see zombie flick with a difference, Harold’s Going Stiff on the opening night of the festival.
The first screening of the festival at the George Street cinemas (one of many city venues playing over the 12 day event) was a more low-key night than the gala opening at the State Theatre (who needs red carpets anyway?), but the movie did not disappoint.

Curator of the ‘Freak me out’ section of the festival, film critic Richard Kuipers, gave a quick intro to his opening night selection, and a few other must-see films in this category. These are his top picks and a bit about them:

Livid (France) – “A French haunted house.”
Ok, Good (USA) – “The unravelling life of a struggling actor.”
The Warped Forest (Japan) – “Words cannot explain.”
Killer Joe (USA) – “Absolutely fantastic!”

To get you in the mood to be surely freaked out, the short film Perished was played before the main event. Now I’m not a hardcore horror fan; all the gore, suspense and blood curdling screams are just not my cup of tea. And this movie had me covering my eyes for most of it (which is a probably a compliment!)

It’s not that it was unbearable to watch, it was actually quite good and kept you captivated for its entirety – I’m just a big wuss.
Written by Australian director, producer team Stefan Androv Radanovich and Aaron McCann it is one of the many short films playing at this year’s festival.
Suitably in the mood for the night’s main showing, we sat back ready to enjoy but not really sure what to expect.
Filmed in Bradford in the UK and sharing the sister city link with Sydney as the only other UNESCO City of Film in the world, Harold’s Going Stiff is a zombie movie unlike any other I’ve seen before.
From director and screen writer Keith Wright and producer Richard Guy, this movie is sure to surprise and delight. Described by Richard Kuipers as “a zombie film with a lot of differences… it almost brought a tear to my eye”, Harold’s Going Stiff is a sweet and humorous take on the standard zombie theme. I give it ★ ★ ★ ★ lastminute lovely stars.
There are a bucket-load of great films screening at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, and other events happening around the CBD including free screenings, live music, talks and exhibitions. For more info on what’s on and where pick up a SFF hub program.

If you’re not in Sydney not to worry – it’s a travelling festival!

The festival visits 16 different locations over Australia, so check the SFF website to find out when it’s in your town.