Each year, Sydney Film Festival immerses audiences in the stories, sensations, ideas and issues that define our world and our times. Since 1954, exciting programs of films, talks and special events have provoked discovery, debate and delight, allowing Sydneysiders to inhabit new perspectives, challenge their assumptions and enlarge their worldviews. The history of SFF is one of connection, conversation and community, and a celebration of the transformative power of cinematic storytelling.

The SFF Archives capture and preserve this remarkable history – an almost 70-year journey from film society gathering to iconic international film festival. They hold the memories of a diverse community of film-lovers, the history of an evolving artform and burgeoning Australian industry, and the story of Sydney’s cultural coming-of-age.

Approaching its 70th anniversary in 2023, SFF sought to revitalise this invaluable knowledge and memory bank. The Archives Renewal project was launched in 2021 as an investment in SFF’s story, its contributions to Sydney’s cultural life and the lively audiences who have attended and animated the Festival year after year. The project comprises the appointment of a Festival Archivist, the overhaul of internal archival systems, the recording of a new series of oral histories and the dramatic redesign of the Living Archive.

When it launched in 2013 with support from the City of Sydney to mark SFF’s 60th anniversary, the Living Archive broke new ground as an online initiative. Presented as a digital flipbook, it allowed audiences to access rich troves of not only films, photographs and program guides, but memories of the SFF community, with contributions and reflections from past directors, committee members, critics, academics and audiences. It created a comprehensive chronicle of SFF’s history and made this accessible for all.

Fast forward ten years and the Living Archive’s once-innovative format began to show signs of its age. As part of the Archives Renewal, SFF committed to revitalising this valuable public resource, with the aim of reframing and reengaging audiences in SFF’s exceptional history. To do so, the Living Archive would need new underlying architecture, improved functionalities and a reimagined user experience.

This new Living Archive is designed to encourage exploration and discovery, as much a resource for the passionate Festival-goer as it is for students and researchers. It will evolve alongside the Festival itself, with new capabilities to host dynamic multimedia materials and an underlying architecture that is future-proofed. New editorial pieces feature Festival objects and ephemera from across the decades, bringing buried traces and forgotten connections between Festival editions to the surface. Most of all, it aims to centre the SFF and TFF audiences, who are at the heart of the Festival, with a new community submissions portal enabling a collaborative approach to the ongoing process of writing and rewriting SFF’s history.

This is a living, breathing document of the achievements of a beloved cultural institution and the power of a vibrant film-loving community that will continue to evolve alongside the Festival itself.

For all copyright enquiries or to review the Sydney Film Festival Living Archives Policy please contact us at: archives@sff.org.au

Charlene and Graham Bradley AM

Margaret Andrews, David and Leith Bruce-Steer, Leo Christie OAM, Davis Property Consulting, Rosalyn Diprose, David Donaldson, Laurie Ferguson, Valmae Freilich, John Gleeson, Sophie Goddard SC, Jennifer Hill and Gary O’Reilly, Adam Herron, Richard Keys, Annette Mauer, Joan McDonald, Anthony Mitchell, June Murphy, Jan O’Reilly, Annie Parnell, In memory of Joe Petranovic, Caroline Pryor, Alex-Oonagh Redmond, Nizza and Max Siano, Ross Tzannes AM, Julie Young, Anonymous (2)

Sydney Film Festival is a not-for-profit organisation that relies on the generosity of its audience to remain viable. Your tax-deductible donation will help preserve 70 years of SFF memories and allow the Festival to continue creating transformative cinematic experiences for future generations.