PREMIERE Sydney Film Festival opens its 73rd edition with Selina Miles’ documentary ‘Silenced’

Step aside Vivid, because the real cultural highlight of the month is officially in town. And no, it doesn’t involve a couple hundred dodgy drones. The Sydney Film Festival is back for its 73rd edition, with more than 200 films across this year’s program.

On Wednesday night, the festival opened with the Australian premiere of Selina Miles’ new documentary Silenced. Featuring Brittany Higgins, Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, Amber Heard and Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, the film examines the weaponisation of defamation law in the wake of the #MeToo movement, and how legal systems can be used to silence survivors and the journalists reporting on their stories. We think you should watch it.

As expected, opening night drew a strong crowd from across film, media and the broader Sydney scene. Most notably, Lisa Wilkinson was in attendance, having originally interviewed Brittany Higgins on The Project back in 2021.

While we admittedly loved last year’s body horror Together from director Michael Shanks, Silenced is a different kind of opening night film. It sits right at the centre of current conversations around gendered violence, survivor testimonies and the legal systems that shape whose stories are heard.

Scroll down for all the red carpet pics.