The 62nd Sydney Film Festival culminated with the much-anticipated world premiere of Neil Armfield’s Holding the Man to a sold-out audience at the State Theatre.

Winner for best narrative feature went to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and winner for best documentary was Wide Open Sky directed by Lisa Nicol.

Miguel Gomes, director of Arabian Nights went home with the prestigious Sydney Film Prize, out of a selection of 12 films in the official competition.

The Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films were also announced; A Single Body (Un Seul Corps), directed and written by Sotiris Dounoukos, received the Dendy Live Action Short Award.

“I wrote the film in Australia after the loss of my father, so to see the film connect with audiences both in Australia and abroad and now to be recognised with this award is immensely satisfying,” said Dounoukos, a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts’ school of film and television.

Dounoukos recently won Best Short Film Award at the St Kilda Film Festival, following another award for Toronto International Film Festival’s best international short film.

The French-Australian co-production was also awarded the Association Beaumarchais’ Script Award for Short Drama.

Journalist Michael Ware and two-time Oscar winner Bill Guttentag were awarded the Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary, a $10,000 cash prize, for Only the Dead; with a special mention going to The Lost Aviator, directed by Andrew Lancaster.

Grace Under Water, directed and produced by Anthony Lawrence, received the Yoram Gross Animation Award and Brooke Goldfinch took the Best Director Rouben Mamoulian Award for Red Rover.

The Event Cinema Australian Short Screenplay Award was awarded to Bluey, written and directed by Darlene Johnson, who also received a $5,000 cash prize.

Meanwhile, Ryan Griffen received an honourable mention for the controversial film You Turn.

“Attendances at screenings, events and talks grew for the eighth year by 13 per cent to 176,000,” said Sydney Film Festival CEO Leigh Small.

“A total of 343 sessions were held across 12 days of the festival, screening 256 films from 68 countries, with 33 world premieres, including 22 world premiering short films and 138 Australian premieres including 18 Australian premieres of short films and five international premieres.”

Ms Small also highlighted that with the return of daytime sessions to the State Theatre, total attendances increased by 20 per cent; sold out screenings across the festival increased by 21 sessions which resulted in a 9 per cent increase in income for the festival.

The Sydney Film Festival management also announced that Nashen Moodley will continue as festival director for another four year term.

“The NSW government has been proud to support the Sydney Film Festival,” said NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant.

“This year’s festival opened and closed with feature films produced in NSW and enthralled audiences with more than 250 films over 12 days, reinforcing Sydney’s role as a global creative hub.”

This year’s festival treated Sydney not only to a fantastic celebration of film from around the world, but a wonderful range of Australian film and television storytelling on the big screen. A particular highlight was to see local films open and close the festival, and the extraordinary range and quality of Australian content was showcased throughout.

“Particularly important to us was the premiere of the Songlines on Screen program,” said Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason.

“It was a great opportunity to share some of our vitally important cultural heritage, in the form of screen versions of Indigenous Australian songlines narrated and performed by traditional custodians and their communities across the country.”

THE FOXTEL MOVIES AUDIENCE AWARDS

The Foxtel Movies Audience Awards are Sydney Film Festival’s people’s choice awards, and reflect the most popular films at the festival. After each screening, audience members are invited to rate the film via the web, an app, and SMS-based voting systems.

Winner of the Foxtel Movies Audience Award for best narrative feature went to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.

The Foxtel Movies Audience Award for best documentary went to Wide Open Sky directed by Lisa Nicol.

* For enquiries contact Amber Forrest-Bisley, publicity manager Sydney Film Festival at amber@cardinalspin.com.au or call (02) 8065 7363 or 0405 363 817.