THE 60TH SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL'S 'FIRST 27'

Ahead of the full programme launch on May 8, the Sydney Film Festival has released the names of 27 of the films to screen in this year's 60th anniversary schedule (including David Gordon Green's Prince Avalanche, pictured below), beginning June 5.

Highlighlights include the World Premiere of Australian performance artist William Yang’s documentary William Yang: My Generation; the Australian premiere of Park Chan-Wook's thriller Stoker, starring Mia Wasikowska and Nicole Kidman; and, the Australian documentary Red Obsession, from directors David Roach and Warwick Ross and narrated by Russell Crowe. In all, the selection represents 24 Australian premieres spread amongst the 16 features and 11 documentaries.

Of particular cultural signifigance will be the special event screening of a digitally restored print of Ned Lander's seminal aboriginal rock docu-drama Wrong Side of the Road, featuring the music of Us Mob and No Fixed Address. Also announced was the Australian premiere of video artist Jeff Desom's Hitchcock-inspired 'Rear Window Loop', an installation that will be the centrepiece of the popular festival meeting place, The Hub, in Sydney's Lower Town Hall. 

The 27 films announced are (in alphabetical order):

The Act of Killing (Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn and Anonymous; Denmark, Norway, UK)

Blackfish (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite; USA)

Blancanieves (Director: Pablo Berger; Spain, France)

Comrade Kim Goes Flying (Directors: Kim Gwang-hun, Nicholas Bonner and Anja Daelemans; Belgium, UK, North Korea)

Exposed (Director: Beth B.; USA)

Fallen City (Director: Zhao Qi; China)

A Few Hours of Spring (Director: Stephane Brize; France)

Frances Ha (Director: Noah Baumbach; USA)

Frankenstein's Army (Director: Richard Raaphorst; USA, The Netherlands)

The Human Scale (Director: Andreas Mol Dalsgaard; Denmark)

The Look of Love (Director: Michael Winterbottom; UK, USA)

La Maison de la Radio (Director Nicholas Philibert; France, Japan)

Midnight's Children (Director: Deepa Mehta; Canada)

Miss Nicki and The Tiger Girls (Director: Julia Lamont; Australia)

Oh Boy (Director: Jan Ole Gerster; Germany)

Outrage Beyond (Director: Takeshi Kitano; Japan)

Prince Avalanche (Director: David Gordon Green; USA)

Rear Window (Director: Alfred Hitchcock; USA)

Red Obsession (Directors: David Roach and Warwick Ross; Australia)

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (Director: Matthew Miele; USA)

Stoker (Director: Park Chan-Wook; UK, USA) 

Stories We Tell (Director: Sarah Polley; Canada)

Wadjda (Director: Haifaa Al Mansour; Saudi Arabia, Germany)

What Maisie Knew (Directors: Scott McGhee and David Siegel; USA)

What Richard Did (Director: Lenny Abrahamson; Ireland)

William Yang: My Generation (Director: Martin Fox; Australia)

Wrong Side of the Road (Director: Ned Lander; Australia)