Local Films Take Out Sydney Film Festival Audience Awards

Following the announcement of the official award winners on Sunday, Sydney Film Festival has revealed the 2019 Audience Awards.

Local film Sequin In A Blue Room, directed by Samuel van Grinsven, was awarded Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary went to Sydney director Selina Miles' Martha: A Picture Story.

Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley was excited about the awards going to local productions. "The fact that the majority of the top-voted titles were local productions gives a great insight into our collective appetite for excellent Australian storytelling," he said.

“Sequin In A Blue Room is a very highly accomplished film, particularly as the debut feature of young Australian filmmaker Samuel van Grinsven.

“This coming-of-age tale about a high schooler whose hook-up app obsession sends him down a dangerous path is a breath of fresh air from the independent Australian queer film scene.

“Delving into a story beyond our own borders, Martha: A Picture Story is a wonderful Australian production about an unexpected icon of New York’s vivid graffiti scene – one of the biggest art movements in history,” he said.

Check out the top five for both categories below. 

The Audience Awards

The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Top Five

1. Sequin In A Blue Room, directed by Samuel Van Grinsven (Australia)

2. Hearts And Bones, directed by Ben Lawrence (Australia)

3. Suburban Wildlife, directed by Imogen McCluskey (Australia)

4. Never Look Away, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Germany)

5. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, directed by Céline Sciamma (France)

The Audience Award for Best Documentary Top Five

1. Martha: A Picture Story, directed by Selina Miles (Australia)

2. The Final Quarter, directed by Ian Darling (Australia)

3. She Who Must Be Loved, directed by Erica Glynn (Australia) - also the winner of the 2019 Documentary Australia Foundation Award

4. Sanctuary, directed by Kaye Harrison (Australia)

5. Honeyland, directed by Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska (North Macedonia)