The Sydney Film Festival wrapped up a memorable two weeks of international and Australian films this weekend with the presentation of the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Film, the Urban Cinefile Audience Awards, as well as the FIPRESCI Award for Best Documentary. The awards were followed by the slick closing night film Thanks for Not Smoking, starring Aaron Eckhart as spin doctor Nick Naylor who works for the Academy of Tobacco Studies. Spiked with black humour (Nick dines every week with the ...

With this his second (and last) Festival, Artistic Director Lynden Barber has again shown an astute ability to mix the provocative with the seductive, the challenging with the entertaining, giving patrons a snapshot of the concerns and amusements of filmmakers from around the world. Andrew L. Urban samples the menu.In a world troubled by violence, defeated by poverty, racked by intolerance and engulfed in conflict, it’s appropriate that a major film festival such as Sydney’s should gather fi...