We acknowledge Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF are based.
We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

Riceboy Sleeps

Directed by Anthony Shim
2022
Canada
117 minutes
M
A strong-willed Korean single mother and her young son start a new life in 1990s Canada. Anthony Shim’s semi-autobiographical drama has won more than 20 international awards.
Seoul-born Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim’s second feature is an achingly intimate portrait of a mother’s love for her son. With delicacy and tenderness that never tips into sentimentality, Shim charts the difficulties faced by So-young and Dong-hyun as they attempt to fit into Canadian suburbia in a time when virtually no support was available. Years later we meet Dong-hyung (now known as David) as a wayward teenager who’s grown distant from his mother until a critical event takes them on an unpredictable journey into their Korean past. This shot-on-16mm treasure, drawing laudatory comparisons with Minari (SFF 2021), is superbly performed by dancer-turned-actor Choi Seung-yoon in her first feature role and 2022 TIFF Rising Star award winner Ethan Hwang.

New sessions added – Back by Popular Demand
We’re bringing 13 of the most-loved and sold-out films back by popular demand, for another four days after Closing Night until Thursday 22 June! Single tickets on sale now. Flexipass redeems are not available for these special post-Festival sessions. Short films do not screen with Back by Popular Demand sessions.
A poignant coming-of-age story… It could almost be a companion piece to Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari.
Allan Hunter, Screen International
A tender, ambitious, meticulous and deeply empathetic work.
Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Punching well above its weight, the film is a triumph of independent filmmaking, and Shim should now be on every serious cinephile’s radar.
Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

Tickets

Thu 8 Jun
2:30pm
State Theatre
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Sat 10 Jun
5:30pm
Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 9
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Sun 18 Jun
5:45pm
Ritz Randwick - Cinema 5
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Tue 20 Jun
6:45pm
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 3
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Program Strand
Features
Year
2022
Classification
M
Country
Canada
Language
In English and Korean with English subtitles
Director
Anthony Shim
Producer
Bryan Demore, Rebecca Steele, Anthony Shim
Cast
Choi Seung-yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Hwang, Choi Seung-yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Hwang
Screenwriter
Anthony Shim
Cinematographer
Christopher Lew
Editor
Anthony Shim
Premiere
Australian Premiere
Genre
Festival Award Winners, Asia, By Popular Demand
Company Credits
Australian Distributor: Icon Distribution
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