The Sydney Film Festival opened its 73rd edition with a sold-out Australian premiere of Silenced, a documentary spotlighting the legal pressures faced by women who speak publicly about sexual violence.
Festival Director Nashen Moodley welcomed a packed opening-night audience, alongside Silenced director Selina Miles and the documentary’s subjects, international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson and advocate Brittany Higgins. Higgins and Robinson received a standing ovation from attendees following the screening.
The opening-night film arrived in Sydney following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Directed by Miles, whose previous work includes Martha: A Picture Story, Silenced examines how defamation laws are used against survivors of sexual violence and the journalists reporting their stories.
The documentary follows Robinson as she navigates a series of high-profile cases involving Higgins, actor Amber Heard, and Colombian journalist Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, co-founder of feminist publication Volcánicas. Inspired by Robinson’s book How Many More Women?, co-authored with Dr Keio Yoshida, the film takes viewers inside courtrooms and behind global headlines while exploring the legal pressures faced by women who speak publicly about abuse.
Sydney Film Festival Board Chair Darren Dale said the opening-night selection reflected the festival’s broader mission. “Sydney Film Festival exists to bring us together around the stories of other people’s lives, and tonight is a perfect example of that shared experience in action,” Dale said.
“To share a film with an audience is to feel its impact multiply – stories resonate more deeply when they’re seen and felt together. We are proud to open the 73rd Festival with this eye-opening documentary and to share its urgent message.”
NSW Minister for the Arts John Graham highlighted the significance of the festival to the state’s screen sector. “The opening night of the Sydney Film Festival is a big moment for the NSW screen industry and the film loving community,” Graham said. “As huge crowds pour into cinemas it is a reminder of the power of film, and why we’re backing the local industry for growth by investing in a second major screen studio in Sydney.”
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Lord Mayor Clover Moore noted the scale of this year’s event, which features 20 world premieres and 135 Australian premieres across its 12-day program. “The Festival’s films, curated for Sydney audiences, elevate voices that may go unheard, transport us to other worlds and other lives, and give us new and meaningful insights,” Moore said.
A host of filmmakers and industry figures attended the opening-night gala, including Sydney Film Prize jury president Kleber Mendonça Filho, jury members Boo Junfeng, Ari Wegner and Sally Riley.
Among the notable guests on the red carpet were Claudia Karvan, Lisa Wilkinson, Tim Pocock, Lincoln Younes and Chika Ikogwe.
The Sydney Film Festival will run until June 14th, with screenings and events taking place across the city. Check out the full lineup here. Tickets and FlexiPasses are on sale now here.
