44th Festival 1997

This year saw the government once more decree Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Sàlo, or: The 120 Days of Sodom a banned film, continuing the strained relationship between Australian censors and international cinema. In response to this, the festival initiated a new committee called Watch on Censorship, which intended to expose and combat “the morals committee” that was the Senate Select Committee on Community Standards.

Special night programs were devoted to new Spanish and Irish cinema, as well as a Shohei Imamura retrospective. There was a restoration screening held of the newly discovered 1945 version of Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep, as part of a retrospective of his work. In addition to this, a retrospective screening of the pre-release version of John Ford’s My Darling Clementine was also shown. This year’s frame-by-frame screening was Zorba the Greek, with British cinematographer Walter Lassally providing a detailed analysis.

The fourth Sydney Salute was a tribute to the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The award was accepted by Robert Gitt.

The Ian McPherson Memorial Lecture was delivered by Ian David.

Opening Night Film: Doing Time for Patsy Cline (directed by Chris Kennedy)

Closing Night Film: Dream with the Fishes (directed by Finn Taylor)

Award Winners

Dendy Award for Australian Short Films (General):

Five Hundred Acres, directed by Lucy Lehmann

Dendy Award for Australian Short Films (Fiction over 15 minutes):

Boy, directed by Glenn Fraser

Dendy Award for Australian Short Films (Fiction under 15 minutes):

Skud, directed by Donna Swann

Dendy Award for Australian Short Films (Documentary):

The Christmas Cake, directed by Katey and David Grusovin

Yoram Gross Animation Award:

Uncle, directed by Adam Benjamin Elliott

Ethnic Affairs Commission (EAC) Award:

The Butler, directed by Anna Kannava

NSW Film and Television Office Rouben Mamoulian Award:

The Christmas Cake, directed by Katey and David Grusovin