Queer love story wins Sydney film award

A 21-year-old French-Canadian filmmaker has taken out the major prize at the Sydney
Film Festival for his bisexual love triangle tale of two friends competing for the
attention of a shared crush.
Xavier Dolan, who not only produced but also directed, wrote and starred in the
dreamy yet dark Heartbeats, was awarded the $60,000 prize on the closing day of the
festival.
Although he was absent from Monday's ceremony, there was no shortage of glowing
praise, with festival director Clare Stewart hailing him as a "remarkable new talent
on the international film landscape" portraying a "bold and audacious style".
A handful of famous faces did manage to make it along to the low-key event,
including Australian actor Miranda Otto and Sir Ian McKellen, who starred as Gandalf
in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The Sydney Film Prize is awarded in recognition of courageous, audacious and
cutting-edge filmmaking.
It also celebrates films that engage the audience in thought.
Heartbeats, which was overlooked for an award at Cannes Film Festival in May, is
Dolan's second film.
He wrote his debut feature, J'ai Tué ma Mère (I Killed My Mother), at just 17.
In his latest work, Dolan plays Francis, a drop-dead gorgeous 20-something who,
along with Marie (Monia Chokri), falls for the luscious and elusive Nicolas (Niels
Schneider).
The two protagonists become obsessed with their fantasy, threatening their friendship.
Stewart said Dolan had an "absolute grip on cinematic language that resulted in a
very impressive feature film".
"I think it is fair to say that this is someone who is going to continue to make a
mark on cinema in the years ahead," she told AAP.
Australian film producer Jan Chapman, one of five judges deciding the 2010
competition, described Heartbeats as "extremely successful in the completeness of
its vision".
"The whole film worked, and it had a really fresh look at a kind of well-worn path
about romance and particularly about a crush where nothing really eventuates," she
told AAP.
Australian film Wasted on the Young, and Russian flick How I Ended this Summer, were
given honourable mention of the 12 prize contenders, which were whittled down from
157 films screened at the festival.
Overall, attendances were up by 20 per cent on last year and box office sales saw a
15 per cent increase, with 68 sold-out sessions.
"That is a really thrilling indication of exactly how intensely Sydneysiders have
embraced the festival this year," Ms Stewart said.