Andrey Zvyagintsev claimed the Sydney Film Prize on Sunday night for “Minotaur,” his thriller set against the backdrop of contemporary Russia, as the 73rd Sydney Film Festival wrapped its 12-day run at the State Theatre with what organizers described as the highest-selling festival in the event’s history.
The AUD$60,000 ($42,200) prize – awarded for work deemed “audacious, cutting-edge and courageous” – was determined by an international jury led by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, joined by Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, Singaporean director Boo Junfeng, Australian cinematographer Ari Wegner and Australian First Nations producer-director Sally Riley.
“Minotaur” had previously won the Grand Prix at Cannes earlier this year. Accepting the Sydney prize in person – his first visit to Australia in more than a decade – Zvyagintsev addressed the ceremony with remarks that underscored the film’s stakes for audiences inside Russia. “I would like to thank the jury for this decision, because this film means a lot to people who are struggling at the moment in Russia,” he said. “The Russian language is struggling. This film is very important to them.”
In their joint statement, the jury described “Minotaur” as a work that tackles the abuse of power in a register that felt “strongly Hitchcockian, strongly cinematic” – a chronicle of contemporary Russia that they said addressed a subject that, unfortunately, never goes out of style.
