The 68th Sydney Film Festival Closing Night Gala Awards were presented on Sunday night, 14 November at the State Theatre, just before the Australian premiere screening of Wes Anderson’s highly anticipated comedy-drama The French Dispatch.
This was the closing night of Australian’s first major film festival to return to in-person screenings, and it was a celebration of survival on many levels. After all, the event had been postponed twice and opened just two weeks after COVID restrictions lifted in Sydney. Audiences had returned, albeit in cautious numbers. As Sydney Film Festival CEO Leigh Small said, ‘with COVID capacity restrictions and a smaller program, we were thrilled to see cinemas over 55% full and 52 sessions sold out.’
