Death of an Undertaker

Shot over eight years, this hybrid documentary is set in a real-life funeral home on Leichhardt’s famous Norton St, and features an admirably game cast of actual morticians. Joining them on-screen is writer-director Byers (actor in The Tree, SFF 2010; The Moogai, SFF 2024), who stars as Sparrow, a part-time worker whose fragile psyche begins to fracture in the lead-up to his first exhumation. On the brink of homelessness, Sparrow is offered shelter in the flat next door to the parlour, as the boundary between life and death – and work and self – dissolves into oblivion. Bleakly funny and formally playful, Byers’ lo-fi debut is a singularly strange and striking entry for the Australian film history books.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.