59th Sydney Film Festival closes on a record-breaking note

The 59th Sydney Film Festival (SFF) wrapped on Sunday (17th June) with the Australian Premiere of the US sci-fi comedy, Safety Not Guaranteed, bringing to a close the most highly attended Sydney Film Festival to date.

SFF Chief Executive Leigh Small explained "this year, attendances at films and talks grew by 10% to 122,000.

"There was also a 27% growth in Flexipass sales, indicating individuals are attending more films during the Festival. We were elated by the positive festival buzz in the city this year, and again almost 50% of the sessions were over 90% full."

SFF Festival Director Nashen Moodley added "in my first year as Festival Director for Sydney Film Festival, I was proud to lead an event that continues to grow and change; adding new dimensions ranging from the Blackfella Films Presents program to the potpourri of comedy, burlesque, live music, talks and events in the Hub.

"On a personal note, I was delighted to see so much of Sydney come together in such a spirit of celebration; all ages, all cultures, all interests, all backgrounds were out in force, creating audiences of great diversity united by their shared love of the cinema experience."

This year, SFF was pleased to announce Rachel Perkins and Darren Dale as new programming partners to jointly curate and present the best indigenous films from Australia and around the world, under the program banner of Blackfella Films @ Sydney Film Festival. BFF@SFF presented six films including the World Premiere of Mabo, which was attended by the real-life protagonist, Bonita Mabo and her family and received an emotional reception and standing ovation.

The Festival Hub @ Lower Town Hall was successfully launched as a free public space where filmgoers could relax and mingle, see local and international live acts, hear filmmaker talks and have a drink at the Keystone Bar. Over 8,000 visitors made the Festival Hub a big success in its inaugural year. A Hub highlight was Paris-based photographer Fabrizio Maltese's exhibition, Role/Play, featuring large-scale photographic portraits of iconic film stars and filmmakers. Memorable moments included sassy burlesque performances and riotous comedy routines inspired by cinema, a dance party in which we counted down the festival's 59 years of existence one song at time, and a night of 60's Cambodian surf rock which had everyone dancing.

All up there were a total of 225 sessions held across the 12 days of the Festival, including 157 films from 51 countries in 51 languages, 17 world premieres (9 features, 8 shorts) and 112 Australian premieres, 13 retrospective titles, 34 short films, 68 features and 42 documentaries, 25 films by first-time feature directors and 44 films directed or co-directed by women.

Over 150 Australian and International filmmakers attended SFF 2012. This prestigious list included guests from 22 countries, who had won over 45 International awards between them, including four Academy Awardsï¾®, four Sundance Awardsï¾® and three Logie Awardsï¾®. This year's SFF guests attended over 75 screenings and gave over 85 talks and Q&As, which took place at the Apple Store, Festival Hub @ Lower Town Hall and post-screening across all venues.

Screen Australia Chief Executive Ruth Harley concluded "it's tremendous to see that the Festival has had such a great year with a program that has broad appeal to film-loving Sydney audiences

"Sydney Film Festival is both an important cultural event for Sydney and the Australian film industry."

The Sydney Film Festival screens feature films, documentaries, short films and animations across the city at the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Opera Quays and the Art Gallery of NSW. The festival is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar and is one of the world's longest-running film festivals.

For more information visit www.sff.org.au