Sydney Film Festival 2020 moves online amid coronavirus threat

Sydney Film Festival (SFF) is going digital in June, after the organisers previously announced that this year’s event would be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisers told Variety that the decision has been made to support the Australian and global film industry and stay connected with the audiences.

“It’s not so much a change of heart. When we announced the cancellation of the physical festival we mentioned that in the coming months we would look for opportunities to celebrate films and filmmakers.

“We’re very determined to support the film industry, and the Australian film industry in particular, and this virtual edition is a way of doing that while remaining connected to our very enthusiastic audience,” a festival spokesman said.

The digital festival will run from June 10 to 21 and feature world premieres of true stories from Australian documentary filmmakers; a program of shorts from budding filmmakers of the Australian film industry; and films from European female directors.

All film screenings will be paid.

The organisers said the online edition of the SFF will be a national event, and the screenings will be geo-blocked to be visible in Australia only.

The line-up of the SFF will be announced later this month.