And there will be an Ingmar Bergman retrospective curated by David Stratton.
Also revealed in advance of the full program launch of 200+ films on Wednesday 6 May is a new screening venue at Dendy Newtown and an enhanced family film program.
“This preview gives you a picture of the depth and breadth of the range of features and documentaries you will discover in our full program,” says Festival Director Nashen Moodley.
Leading the newly announced titles in the Festival’s sneak peek are the Australian-Irish thriller Strangerland, starring Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes and Hugo Weaving; Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Slow West, a new twist on the classic western starring Michael Fassbender, with Australians Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ben Mendelsohn; Mr Holmes starring Sir Ian McKellen as a 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes obsessing over his last unsolved case; and the surreal pitch-black comedy A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, from the Swedish director Roy Andersson, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
True stories on offer include Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Alex Gibney’s shocking exposé of that movement’s sway over Hollywood; Love & Mercy, the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys biopic starring John Cusack and Paul Dano; and The Look of Silence, the highly anticipated follow up to Joshua Oppenheimer’s phenomenal The Act of Killing (SFF 2013).
In 2015 the Festival extends its reach to include Sydney’s Inner West, bringing around 20 screenings, including highlights of the popular Freak Me Out program of horror and midnight fare, to Dendy Newtown. The State Theatre, Dendy Opera Quays, Art Gallery of NSW, Event Cinemas George Street and the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne will continue as official festival screening venues.
The full Sydney Film Festival program will be announced on Wednesday 6 May at 11am.
