The Official Competition was established in 2008 and
endorsed by Fédération Internationale des Associations de
Producteurs de Films (the regulating organisation for international
film festivals). Twelve feature films are selected for Official
Competition on the basis that they demonstrate "emotional
power and resonance; are audacious, cutting-edge, courageous; and
go beyond the usual treatment of the subject matter." The
jury, consisting of five international and Australian filmmakers
and industry professionals, awards a cash prize of $60,000,
presented at SFF's Closing Night ceremony on Sunday 16 June.
In this chillingly surreal festival smash, a former Indonesian
gangster, military collaborator and movie buff re-enacts his
murderous past in the style of the films he loves.
Fresh from competition at Cannes, this is a dark, wickedly funny
and very strange Dutch film about a mysterious and sinister
underground dweller who ingratiates himself into the lives of a
suburban family.
This remarkable film about a family of Flemish bluegrass
musicians, which won the Audience Prize at the Berlinale, is a
constantly surprising and emotional journey of love, tragedy and
joy.
The 2013 Berlinale Golden Bear winner, Child's Pose is
a riveting drama that centres on a mother's twisted affection for
her son, and the repercussions of her actions when he lands himself
in trouble.
Selected for the Cannes Critics' Week, this visually innovative
debut feature is a sensitive portrait of a Scottish town wracked
with grief following a fishing accident, and the repercussions for
the accident's sole survivor.
Cannes Competition contender Grigris is a superb humanist
drama with thriller elements. Despite a paralysed leg, Grigris
dreams of becoming a dancer. His dreams are jeopardised when he is
forced to work with illegal petrol traffickers.
An enthusiastic Mumbai cop on his first day on the job faces the
consequences of an armed confrontation in this taut thriller
co-produced by the makers of Gangs of Wasseypur and
Senna.
Part slacker comedy, part chronicle of Berlin hipster cool, this
German hit follows a college dropout who is dumped by his
girlfriend, cut off by his father and in trouble with the law.
Ryan Gosling reunites with director Nicolas Winding Refn
(Drive, 2009 Sydney
Film Prize winner Bronson) for a brutal story of
betrayal, rage and redemption set in the Thai underworld.
Australian writer and director Kim Mordaunt (Bomb Harvest) won major prizes
at both the Berlinale and Tribeca with this heartwarming
coming-of-age tale set entirely in Laos.
Sarah Polley, the acclaimed director of Take This Waltz, crafts an
inspired and inventive exploration of her own family of
storytellers, including her actor mother and playwright father.
The first feature shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, and by that
country's first woman filmmaker, Haifaa Al Mansour, concerns a
10-year-old girl who wants nothing more than to own a bicycle.