Sydney Film Festival starts today and Amy and I have 7 films booked in so far over the next 12 days. I thought I would take this opportunity to share the trailers for the films we are going to see, as I think they all look absolutely fantastic, and they’re all so different from one another.

First up, tonight is ‘Anthropocene’ a documentary, which is “a stunning sensory experience and cinematic meditation on humanity’s massive reengineering of the planet. The film follows the research of an international body of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group who, after nearly 10 years of research, argue that the Holocene Epoch gave way to the Anthropocene Epoch in the mid-twentieth century as a result of profound and lasting human changes to the Earth.”

This is the third documentary by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, a figure that I have followed since I first discovered, in my first year of university. His images of large scale industrial projects and impact from around the planet are beautiful and horrific and frightening all at the same time.

Up next is ‘Skin’, a film based on a true story of a destitute young man, raised by racist skinheads and notorious among white supremacists. He turns his back on hatred and violence to transform his life, with the help of a black activist and the woman he loves.

‘In Fabric’ is a British horror, comedy about a woman whom buys a cursed red dress, which slowly destroys her life. Looks like this will be a lot of fun after the heavy subject matter of the first two films.

‘Tito and the Birds’ is a Brazilian animated feature about a young boy and two friends whom try to bring a cure to a world consumed by fear. Together they have to uncover Tito’s fathers lost research of birdsong to cure the pandemic of fear stoked by media and politicians. The painterly animation style instantly drew me in when I saw the trailer.

‘Animals’ an Irish comedy follows best friends and party animals Laura and Tyler whose lifesytle comes under scrutiny just as Laura becomes engaged to a partner who abstains from alcohol. Looks like it could be quite hilarious.

Next up is ‘Nightingale’ an Australian thriller by the same director, Jennifer Kent, whom directed ‘The Babadook.’ Though this looks less like a horror, it still goes into dark and horrific territory as a young woman seeks revenge after her family are attacked by a group of soldiers. Set in the 1820s on the island of Tasmania, the woman, with the help of a young aboriginal tracker, hunt down the soldiers and enacts revenge.

Lastly, is ‘Parasite’, a Korean film about a boy from an unemployed family who lands a job to tutor a young girl from a wealthy family. Besides that I have no idea where this film goes or what genre it falls under. All I know is it is directed by Bong Joon-ho, so it could go anywhere, as all his films have jumped from one genre to the next. It won the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Korean film to receive the award.

We still have a few passes left to book so there will be a few more films to add to this list and I definitely think they will be Australian films or documentaries as the festival is loaded with so many choices. Can’t wait to see all of these films!