There have been more red carpets than a Persian carpet showroom at the Sydney Film Festival this year. The festival ends its ‘red carpet marathon’ this evening with the Australian premiere of The Square, competing for a record $60,000 Sydney Film Prize with 11 other official competition films, each one graced with a red carpet gala for its opening night premiere. But Australia is no longer a classless society. The red carpet at Sydney Film Festival has two lanes – one for all the ticket-...

The poster image of this years’ Sydney International Film Festival was haunting. A nymph-like beauty, in mid flight, peers deep into a wall of water. Her face swirls into the rhythm of the water and is lost into its depths. And so too, that image was entrancing as the cinema blackened and every hour yet another film festival debut emerged from the darkness and spellbound its audience. ‘Go deeper’ was the message… and the 53rd Sydney International Film Festival delved deep into the wealth...