Orwell: 2+2=5

Directed by Raoul Peck

France

2025

119 mins

Unclassified 18+

Direct from Cannes, Raoul Peck’s (I Am Not Your Negro, SFF 2017) powerful exploration of George Orwell and his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four reveals just how deeply his warnings resonate today.

In his latest work, Peck turns his gaze to George Orwell: his life, his legacy, and his seminal 1949 novel. Drawing from Orwell’s own words (voiced by actor Damian Lewis), the film juxtaposes a multitude of archival materials and contemporary footage – including the Capitol Building Insurrection; Elon Musk; Ukraine today: imagery that reflects Orwell’s chilling warnings about truth, control, and totalitarianism. Simultaneously, we follow Orwell’s journey, from his youth and political awakening through to his final days, uncovering the backstory of one the 20th century’s most prophetic works. Produced by Alex Gibney, this is a bold and thought-provoking meditation on power, language, and the fragile state of contemporary society.

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.

SFF Flexipass redemptions are unavailable for Back By Popular Demand sessions (June 17-20)

“A vital film... Casting the author’s deathless words in a fresh light and gathering other dissident voices around him, Peck offers a sobering reminder of what’s at stake in this technology-defined age of doublethink and thoughtcrime, the world that Orwell foresaw and we occupy.”

Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

“A chilling examination of how much the nightmare of 1984 has come true.”

Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

“A tantalising portrait of Orwell as a complex social critic.”

Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily

“An urgent, indispensable film for our times.”

Matthew Carey, Deadline

“Heady, dense and even playful... Raoul Peck's film is an artful balancing act, one that dips in and out of Orwell’s life and work, but also uses a broad array of reference points as it swings from history to art to the most current of events.”

Steve Pond, The Wrap

Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

Tickets

Mon 9 June 2025, 12pm

Past Event

State Theatre

Fri 13 June 2025, 12:30pm

Past Event

State Theatre

Sat 14 June 2025, 6:15pm

Past Event

State Library of NSW

Fri 20 June 2025, 6:15pm

Past Event

Dendy Newtown - Cinema 3

See more, save more with a Flexipass or Youth Pass

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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