Three-Part Film 'Arabian Nights' Takes Top Gong At Sydney Film Festival

Arabian Nights, the three-volume film directed by Portugese director Miguel Gomes, won this year's Sydney Film Festival's eighth annual Sydney Film Prize for its "emotional power and resonance; audaciousness, cutting-edge, courageousness; and capacity to go beyond the usual treatment of the subject matter".

From a set of 12 Official Competition films, the $62,000 cash prize was awarded to Gomes by Liz Watts, acting as Jury President, at the Closing Night Gala. Watts stated on behalf of the Jury —  "It is the Jury’s unanimous decision to award this year’s Sydney Film Prize to Arabian Nights Volume 1, 2, 3; directed by Miguel Gomes. [Arabian Nights is] a film of ambition and political vision which confronts, frustrates, and spellbinds — and ultimately reminds us that cinema continues to be a powerful vehicle to examine the human condition."

Accepting the prize from Lapland, Finland, Gomes said of the honour, "I am very happy with the prize. Thank you Sydney, thank you Nashen, thank you ladies and gentlemen from the jury! I have found out two major reasons for being honoured with such a prize: 1) it's easier to have prizes when you can afford to have 3 different screenings of your film! 2) I am now in Lapland, home of old good trustable... Santa Claus!"

In news of the other awards handed out at the Gala, Only The Dead, by journalist Michael Ware and Bill Guttentag, was awarded the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary, a film about the troops in Iraq. 

The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films were awarded to three works — A Single Body, directed by Sotiris Dounoukos, was awarded the Dendy Live Action Short Award; Grace Under Water, directed by Anthony Lawrence, was awarded the Yoram Gross Animation Award; and Red Rover, directed by Brooke Goldfinch, was awarded the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director. Also judged by the Dendy Awards' Jury was the the Event Cinemas Australian Short Screenplay Award, which was awarded to Bluey this year, directed by Darlene Johnson.