Twice yearly at the end of each semester and its production period, Sydney Film School hosts the popular SFS Film Festival to celebrate the completion of the semester’s productions and the graduation of the 1-year Diploma students.
Two days of student film screenings are a great opportunity for current and future filmmakers to come together.
The full house of general public (students, graduates, film crew members, their families and friends), actors, aspiring filmmakers, media and industry leaders is specially addressed by the keynote speakers chosen each year equally for their ability to inspire passion as for their insight into the realities of the film culture of Australia.
Experienced industry people invited so far have been renowned Australian directors Gillian Armstrong, Phillip Noyce, George Miller, Bob Connolly, Philip Hearnshaw and Tom Zubrycki, actors Barry Otto and Matthew Newton, and the former Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating, known for his active support of the Arts in Australia.
Beside the industry professionals, each semester Sydney Film School Festival presents one short film produced by another internationally based film school. Nine short films from nine international film schools have screened within our International Perspectives program to this date. Countries presented so far are: Denmark, China, Croatia, Singapore, Japan, France, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
Since 2009 the SFS Festival in conjunction with the SFS Industry Advisory Board hosts Panel Discussions to educate the audience on a wide range of industry-related issues and to help the industry bodies make their role more widely understood in the community.
The culmination of two days of screenings is the Awards Night, where students’ and graduates’ contributions across all areas of the filmmaking process are recognised in a post screening award presentation, with generous prizes provided by industry sponsors. Each category is judged by the teaching staff and outside industry professionals particular to each discipline.
To support their filmmaking after graduation, one extremely lucky graduate has an opportunity to walk away with the prestigious Chairman’s Award - a cash prize of $5000, granted in recognition of outstanding vision and achievement in filmmaking.
