The Festival Hub - For The People

In its inaugural year, the Sydney Film Festival's Festival Hub will be opening its doors to everyone - local and international filmmakers, students, film lovers - from Thursday 7 through to Saturday 16 June, and it's absolutely free.

The festivities will be held in the Lower Town Hall and will feature free exhibitions, screenings at the Mitsubishi theatrette, talks, parties, live music, performances and DJs every evening from 5 - 10pm (and 2 - 6pm on closing night Saturday 16).

Festival Hub Producer Mathieu Ravier (The Festivalists) spoke to Dave Drayton of theMusic.com.au recently about his desire to create a "geographical centre, kind of a beating heart" for the Film Festival people.

"I've been going to the festival for the years and always felt that one of the things which was missing was a place to hang out and to experience the festival as an insider, and tap into that kind of elusive festival buzz and also, you know, meet friends for a drink before or after a screening," says Ravier.

The Festival Hub highlights include:

Thursday 7 June - Confessions Of A Festival Photographer (6 - 6:30pm)
Photographer Fabrizio Maltese talks about his travels to some of the world's most prestigious film festivals.

Saturday 9 June - Cinema Burlesque (8:30 - 10pm)
The Hub comes to life with sassy live performances by Sydney's top burlesque artists including Frankie Faux, Kelly Ann Doll, Delilah DuMoan and more.

Monday 11 June - Oliver Hermanus In Conversation With Tony Krawitz (6 - 7:30pm)
South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus (Beauty) in conversation with Australian director Tony Krawitz.

Thursday 14 June - Coming Sooner: The Art Of The Movie Trailer (7:30 - 8:30pm)
Hungry Beast's Marc Fennell, Nicholas Hayden and Nicholas McDougall discuss the art, science and hilarity of modern movie trailers.

Friday 15 June - Keanu, Angelina & Denzel Walk Into A Bar... (8:30 - 10pm)
Sydney's top comics deliver hilarious tales inspired by cinema. The line-up includes actor, filmmaker and comedian Gary Eck and host Sally Kimpton.

Camobodian Psych-Out Party (8:30 - 10pm)
Filmmaker Davy Chou and film critic and SFF Freak Me Out programmer Richard Kuiper take turns on the decks to bring psychedelic and danceable Khmer rock and pop from the '60s and '70s.