Opening Night: Silenced
In this eye-opening documentary, courtroom footage and behind-the-headlines interviews reveal how the legal system is being used to victimize, discredit and financially ruin survivors, and journalists reporting on their stories. From Amber Heard at London’s Law Courts to journalist Catalina Ruiz-Navarro in Colombia, and Brittany Higgins’ experience in our own backyard, women globally face a new kind of silencing at the hands of perpetrators of sexual violence. It’s a legal backlash Australian Jennifer Robinson is committed to fighting, inspired by her courageous grandmother who was also a survivor. With unrivalled access, director Selina Miles (Martha: A Picture Story, SFF 2019) challenges the flaws in the justice system that make this silencing possible, while simultaneously revealing the personal cost to those who speak up. A Sundance World Premiere.
Be there for the Opening Night gala and red carpet premiere, alongside Australian and international industry guests.
Opening Night Afterparty
Follow up the screening with Sydney’s most cinematic celebration, the Opening Night Afterparty at Sydney Town Hall. Feel that post-premiere buzz with canapés, cocktails and DJ sets, and rub shoulders with fellows fans and the biggest names in the industry.
Special Guests
Jennifer Robinson is one of the world’s most respected human rights lawyers and advocates. A barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, she has acted in key human rights and media freedom cases in domestic and international courts. Her diverse and groundbreaking work includes representing Julian Assange and securing his release; representing Amber Heard in the unsuccessful defamation proceedings brought by her ex-husband in the UK; achieving political asylum for West Papuan leader Benny Wenda; and successfully taking climate change to the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice. Jen co-authored HOW MANY MORE WOMEN? (published as SILENCED WOMEN in the UK) with her colleague, Dr Keio Yoshida.
Selina Miles is an Australian director with a global reputation. Selina’s debut film MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY won numerous awards including the Audience Award at Sydney Film Festival. Selina’s second documentary, HARLEY & KATYA won an International Emmy Award.
Tickets
Sydney Film Festival acknowledges 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 is based.
We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
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