How to survive Sydney Film Festival

Compiled by Matthew Donlan

The day has arrived! A Sydney cinephile's Christmas is here. For the next 12 days (plus a few days of bonus screenings) the Fleapit team are going to be out and about the city soaking in the best (and mediocre) offerings on the big screen. Maybe this is your first rodeo, or perhaps you're an old dog at the festival game, either way, let this be your bible for how to survive SFF. Don't know what to see on the last ticket of your flexipass? Keep reading! And find out how you can tell us what you think of the films!

Tips & Tricks

1. Wear layers
   SFF lands on the calendar right when the temperature plummets. But inside the theatre can be anywhere between toasty to chilly, so remember to wear layers that can easily come on and off between sessions.
2. Forget the concept of meals (but remember to eat)
   Session times often fall right when you'd like a lunch or dinner. Release yourself from these social constructions. Have dinner at 3pm. Eat lunch at 10am. Dessert is now at 7pm between sessions at the State Theatre. Who cares when you eat, but remember to sustain yourself.
3. Know your seat
   Most theatres during SFF have allocated seating, so don't be that annoying person sitting in the wrong seat. Check your ticket, find your seat and get comfortable early. Who knows, you might even make a new friend with the person next to you before the film starts.
4. Stay for the Q+A
   It breaks my heart when so many people leave as soon as the credits roll and miss out on a Q+A with the director or crew. I know that sometimes festival Q+As can be rough-going, especially with odd audience questions, but it's important to support the filmmaker.
5. Buy rush tickets!
   Each day of the festival, between 11am and 2pm, you can buy $10 tickets from SFFTV in Martin Place for sessions that day. Not only is it a cheap way to fill your time between sessions but you might even discover a hidden gem.

What to see?

The Fleapit team have compiled the top 3 films we're most excited to see at SFF...

Matthew's Picks

1. Chronovisor (Jack Auen, Kevin Walker)
   This popped on to my radar thanks to MoMA's New Directors/New Films series in April so was very excited to see it make the SFF programme. It follows a researcher who becomes entranced with the myth of the chronovisor, an ancient device that can look back into time and project its events.
2. The History of Concrete (John Wilson)
   A documentary that sounds incredibly unappealing is one of my most anticipated of the festival. I've been a fan of John Wilson for years and the chance for him to expand his style into a feature is so exciting. I cannot wait to discover the joys and perils of cement.
3. Leviticus (Adrian Chiarella)
   This is the breakout hit from Sundance, and the debut feature from an Aussie director. Not only am I keen to support local works, but the premise sounds so intriguingly simple; two boys are followed by an entity which appears as the thing they love the most, each other.

Helena's Picks

1. French Girls (Hyun Lee) Notoriously a fucked-up industry (sorry, not sorry), Mia is scouted by a Sydney agent and propelled into the strange world of modelling, ending up in trouble with the law!!?? As well as Hyun Lee’s fascinating plot, I am super excited to see the alluring visuals of cinematographer Dimitri Zaunders (The Golden Spurtle, Friends and Strangers) actualised in le cinema (I am a French Girl now). Also, modern-day Sydney on screen is always fun to see, despite no monorail (#ripmonorail, they could never replace you).
2. No Good Men (Shahrbanoo Sadat) Naru is convinced there are no good men left in Afghanistan, contextualised by her abusive ex-partner, sexist workplace, and ongoing custody battle for her son. However, when diverted to working with Qodrat, Kabul TV’s top journalist, she is forced to question whether this is true. According to the SFF website, this film ‘adeptly plays into rom-com conventions, whilst conveying the sheer terror of a society on the brink of tumult.’ Honestly, the title really appealed to me.
3. Joybubbles (Rachael J. Morrison) This film sounds innovative and insanely original. Joybubbles (formerly and legally known as Josef Carl Engressia Jr.) follows a blind man who discovers he can disrupt the global phone network by whistling a certain frequency. The documentary made it to Sundance 2026 and has been described as buoyant and life-affirming. Personally, I’m sold by anything with life-affirming in the title (which is probably why everyone keeps asking me if I am ok).

Brock's Picks

1. Vive L'Amour (Tsai Ming-liang)
   It's the sucking nipple. Call me perverted but I am really wanting to step further into the Taiwanese New Wave after Yi Yi. I thought this newly restored classic was the right way to push me off the cliff. But don't come near me because I probably will be sobbing or will have already left to go sob in the bathrooms.
2. Tycoon (Charlotte Zhang)
   I do judge by the cover. But this film speaks to me as my kind of digi-schizophrenic episode. Something that is so aggressively human it become alien. Something Ville Kallio would approve. I want to fall into the far gone future not too long from now in this bottom barrel indie crime thriller.
3. Erupcja (Pete Ohs)
   This is the first time in my lifetime I've witnessed the development of our own Cher. As Charli XCX's resume grows, I am wanting more and more to see the development of her talent. This film seems like a promising route to her gentler, naturalistic side in this small-scale drama of a woman in a forced-upon destiny.

Tell us what you think!

There's so many films at SFF, and there's only so much we can see. For the next two weeks, we're turning over the Fleapit to you! Contribute a short paragraph (4-5 sentences) reviewing a film at SFF and we will try to include it in the newsletter or on Instagram!

Submit your review here!