SUFF dines out in style at Summer Hill's Pier 26

Recently we were lucky enough to have our staff meeting at the glorious Pier 26 restaurant in Summer Hill, Sydney. We literally received mountains of seafood, as you can see in this pic. Since the image pretty much speaks for itself all we have to say is the service was as good as the seafood.

We're glad this place is Summer Hill's secret. Thanks Pier 26 for having SUFF!

The Forgiveness of Blood at Sydney Film Festival 2011

While you're waiting for SUFF to start... Sydney Film Festival starts in only one week from today! Some films are sold out and many are selling fast, so avoid disappointment and book now. One film not to miss is THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD - The latest drama from Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace). Book tickets here.

The totally legal SUFF competition 2011

If you've read our newsletter, you'll know we are running a little competition – and anyone can participate! All you need is to know is what the SUFF face logo looks like and apply this logo to wherever your imagination takes you! Then just snap a happy snap and email it to jane [@] suff.com.au.

It could look something like this:

Or... well, we're sure you can do better than us.

You could also stencil the local stray cat*, sticker the back of your boss' car, or perhaps your local tranny performer’s crotch (with her permission of course!) - whatever you heart desires. [Disclaimer: SUFF takes no responsibility for where their image ends up.] As long as the SUFF logo is clearly visible - although obviously the more creative, out there and just plain weird it is, the more we going to like it.

If you would like a stencil sent to you, you can also email Jane for this - or better still, make your own! AND you can enter as many times as you like! We will be giving away DVDs, festival passes, stickers, tshirts and more! Entries will be posted right here, and occasionally on facebook and twitter.

Winners will be declared randomly throughout June, July and August 2011.

*Please use edible colouring. Cats are people too.

SUFF turns five! Bring on the festival for 2011!

Hello there! Yes, SUFF turns 5 this year, and we're celebrating by doing what we do best - holding another great festival (if we do say so ourselves!). We're receiving some fantastic entries again this year, and the good news is it's not too late to enter - the very latest deadline is Friday 24 June 2011. Having said that, we really appreciate receiving films as early as possible so the committee who has the tough job of selecting the films aren't put under *quite* so much pressure! Dedicated as they are, we don't want to be responsible for making them look like this.

We're also about to unveil our new competition here on these pages, and it's something everyone can get involved in - so stay tuned.

Lunopolis - Fantastic Planet Film Fest screening - review

As was blogged previously, SUFF co-presented the Australian premiere of Lunopolis with Fantastic Planet Film Festival last Monday at the Dendy, Newtown.

Fantastic Planet described Lunopolis as "The X-Files meets The Blair Witch Project", which is the most accurate description you'll find anywhere.

The film follows the story of two documentarians who accidentally uncover proof of a hidden city on the moon, and the secret society determined to keep it hidden (www.lunopolis.com). It touches on many of the hottest of conspiracy topics - aliens, déjà vu, time travel, area 51, immortality, a secret moon base, the explanation of the mysteries surrounding Dec 21, 2012 and more - yet manages to skillfully avoid the pitfalls usually associated with films who tackle these subjects.

As a low budget film, the filmmakers did extraordinarily well - proving once again how substance can win hands down over Hollywood gloss.

Screened with Lunopolis was the captivating short "The Chronoscope" - a mocumentary about a beautiful scientist in the 1930s who invents a machine that can see into the past. Funny and intelligent, if you watched it on tv you'd be forgiven for wondering if it were real!

And while we're speaking of shorts... Fantastic Planet Film Festival continues tonight with short film sessions 2 and 3, which are definitely not to be missed. See you there!

SUFF co-presents LUNOPOLIS with Fantastic Planet

Quick post to remind you all that our co-present of LUNOPOLIS is TONIGHT (Monday 1 November, 7pm) at Dendy Newtown.

We love the Fantastic Planet Film Festival - not to mention their sister festival A Night of Horror - their programming is always creative and surprising.

Anyway back to Lunopolis! Tonight is the premiere and we're really thrilled to be part of it. We know you'll love the film as much as we do, so see you there!

the SUFF team

PS If you can't make tonight, there's still plenty on during the week.

SUFF screens at Rosnay Organic Farms in Canowindra, Central West NSW

The rain poured down as we drove through the farm gate. Pulling up close to the house after hours of driving, we looked around uncertainly. We were supposed to be screening here, but hadn't counted on the weather. And where was everyone? Kath dashed to the house to find someone while the rest of us waited in the relative warmth of the car. She came back quickly. No-one there!

With our phones uselessly out of range, we were wondering what to do next when an eerie feeling caused me to looked up. A sillhouette in the doorway of another building! Uncertainly, Kath jumped out again to speak with the stranger, while we contemplated our chances of getting out alive... this was just a little too much like a B-grade horror... *

...and then back to reality when the sillhouette turned out to be the lovely Sam from Rosnay. Yes, we had arrived at Rosnay Organic Farms, one of SUFF's supporting partners. He gave directions to our new screening destination.
Only slightly disappointed that we weren't starring in our own horror flick, we headed to the hall to screen some of the shorts which featured in this year's festival.

While the numbers were lower than expected due to the rain and fears of flash flooding, we can safely say that everyone present had a ball! With dinner cooked and served by Florence and the Rosnay wines flowing freely, there was no chance of anything other than a good time to be had. In contrast to the weather, our hosts and the locals were completely warm and welcoming.

But the country hospitality didn't end there. After the screening we headed back to the Rosnay farm to the cottage they rent out (from $150 per night for 2 people up to $350 for six in case you're wondering). Totally gorgeous! And as were were to find out the next day, the views were as stunning as the location was peaceful. So much for our horror film scenario.

Canowindra (for some reason pronounced ca-NOWn-dra, took us city folk a while to get that one right!) is a picturesque little town around 45 minutes' drive south-west of Orange. We decided to check out Canowindra's main street and raid the local op shops.

Later we were shown around the vineyard and then invited to have dinner with Sam and his beautiful family in their home, a straw bale house they'd built themselves. Inspirational!

All in all, with the screening, the wines, the location but most of all the company of the locals, this visit was one that we'll remember for a long time.

You can check out our photos here!

*This and the preceding paragraph may not be entirely factual, in the interests of a good story.