SUFF 2022: Sydney Underground Film Festival back with a new venue

We may have all well and truly emerged from our lockdown bunkers, but one of Sydney’s favourite film festivals is back to remind us that life is good in the underground.

The Sydney Underground Film Festival is back for a 16th edition, launching a full-scale and in-person program for the first time since 2019. Running from 8-11 September, it also moves to the new location of the Event Cinemas on George Street. The party won’t stop there: On Demand screenings continue the fest from 12-25 September.⁠

Now, we’d be remiss if we didn’t lament that it is moving out of its traditional venue in the Socialist Republic of Marrickville this year. To ease the pain, there’s a stack of exciting releases to appease our inner (and, let’s face it, outer) weirdo.

Opening the festival is I LOVE MY DAD, director James Morosini’s film starring Patton Oswalt as a father who ‘catfishes’ his son in order to spend more quality time with him. It’s fresh from both SXSW and its North American debut, so be sure to secure tickets to this one.

BODIES BODIES BODIES is Halina Reijn’s follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut Instinct. It brings a massive cast together as 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, and party game turns deadly. The cast includes Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, and Lee Pace.

There’ll be the world premiere of the prolific Chad Ferrin’s PIG KILLER. From the description, this is sure to ruffle a few feathers. Rothaniel’s Jerrod Carmichael appears in the tragicomic ON THE COUNT OF THREE, while director Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home at Night) brings us the New Orleans set MONA LISA AND THE BLOOD MOON. Then Jesse Thomas Cook provides a how-to guide for those trying to infiltrate a cult in CULT HERO. Meanwhile, DUAL ponders who would win if Aaron Paul and Karen Gillen fought their own clones.

One of our favourites comes from the incomparable Amanda Kramer. In GIVE ME PITY!, it’s Sissy St. Claire’s big night, although things don’t go quite as planned. Amanda Kramer’s sharp dissection of the medium continues as she takes us back to an era of glitz, glamour and psychedelic existentialism. (You can check out our review for that one).

Speaking of musical variety, there’s the usual great selection of music documentaries this time covering Chumbawamba (I GET KNOCKED DOWN), King Crimson (IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING) and ratbag troublemaker and cultural provocateur Fred Negro (PUB: THE MOVIE).

Plus, you’ll find the regular assortment of short films, ephemera, confounding curiosities, fashionable freak-outs and the annual TAKE 48 short film competition.

The full program, along with tickets to all events and films, are available from the official website.