Sydney Underground Film Festival unveil their transgressive 2019 program

The Sydney Underground Film Festival is Sydney’s frontrunner festival for up and coming underground films, and it’s making its return this year with a bigger lineup than ever.

The annual weekend of extreme, warped and transgressive cinema is returning to the Factory Theatre in Marrickville from September 12-15 for a jam-packed four days. Prepare to explore the outer limits of what film can be.

The Sydney Underground Film Festival will return this year to showcase the best in absurd, fantastic and rule-breaking films, documentaries and animations.

The 2019 rendition of the festival has produced a bigger and better program than ever, with many major works delving deep into themes of society and democracy through experimental filmic techniques that are are not for the faint-hearted.

This year the festival will open with a premiere of the latest misadventure from Harmony Korine, The Beach Bum, which has an all-star lineup including Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Snoop Dogg and Isla Fisher. Expect a psychedelic, multi-sensory cinematic trip that’s said to be a stoner comedy for the ages.

There are a number of filmic highlights on display at the festival over the four days, including the Sydney premiere of Alice, a SXSW Jury prize-winning film directed by Australian filmmaker Josephine Makkeras, as well as Riley Stearn’s The Art of Self-Defense, which stars Jesse Eisenberg in a darkly comic takedown of cultural appropriation and toxic masculinity.

Greener Grass from Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Leubbe, and Knives and Skin by Jennifer Reeder will both cop a feature, as well as a range of documentary pieces including Friedkin Uncut and Memory: The Origins of Alien.

Rounding out the festival will be the Sydney premiere of The Lodge, the most recent psycho-chiller directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, which will be sure to leave viewers unhinged.

There will also be a string of conferences and workshops for keen filmmakers, presented by the festival in collaboration University of Sydney. Head along to cover topics such as scriptwriting, interview techniques, music for the screen, funding, directing, and special effects.

Tickets are on sale now via the Sydney Underground Film Festival.