Who is Edith Piaf?

It seems that there is a little bit of a chill coming from the south as they look on to see how this year's Sydney Film Festival fares. Festival executive director, Clare Stewart, who was previously Head of Film Programs at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne is under the radar from many of her contemporaries south of the border.

The Sydney Film Festival which has had a lot of problems keeping its head above water, finally managed to turn a profit last year and the initial response to her appointment was one of surprise as ACMI was brewing its own financial woes.

Even ex-Telstra chief Ziggy Switkowski resigned as board president of ACMI as it recorded a $5 million loss in its first two years. It is clear that the Sydney Film Festival cant afford many more deficits, so hopefully Stewart can keep last years Sydney Film Festival finances going.

This year's programme again centres around the State Theatre, Dendy Opera Quays and Greater Union Cinemas on George Street. There was talk that Chauvel Cinemas in Paddington would also share in the programme which would add another feather to the cap of the Sydney Lord Mayor's City of Villages plans. But again that appears to have been squashed by a presentation partner.

The programming for this year appears to be very engaging with strands in locally made films, a special array of films from Turkey and Brazil, combined with the regular genres of 'red hot' documentaries, world cinema and gala events. There is also a particularly unique strand that deals with Accessible Cinema covering a range of topics from autism to blindness.

Melburnians, are however, curious about the opening night film La Vie en Rose, a film about Edith Piaf. They have already started heckling Sydneysiders resident in the southern capital with one source reporting the taunt "Hey! You're from Sydney aren't ya? Don't you know who Edith Piaf is?"

One thing about this festival is certain, our cousins down south are looking on with a watchful eye.



Disclaimer: I worked for the Sydney Film Festival last year for three months and I am a member of the Sydney Film Festival.