Concrete Playground

Taking up residence at the North Sydney Oval, the 2010 Starlight Cinema kicks off with a preview screening of the hilarious British political satire In the Loop. Then for the next two months the varied program promises something for every cinematic palate with titles including (500) Days of Summer, An Education, the challenging Precious, James Cameron’s epic Avatar and the Pixar perfection that is UP.

There’s fun to be had watching Matt Damon lie his way through The Informant! or Meryl Streep cooking up a storm in both Julie & Julia and It’s Complicated. You can walk the hallowed halls of Vogue in The September Issue, the winding streets of Genova or venture into the afterlife with Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones.

This season the Starlight Cinema will also host special Bollywood night, a Brazilian Festa, the short film festival FLiCKERFEST as well as a free screening of environmental documentary The Age of Stupid.

Cinemagoers can pack a picnic, enjoy a drink in the Chillout Zone, or splurge on Star Class with a VIP area, deck chair and an antipasto snack box. The program is brimming with 45 films, so take your pick and see the stars from the northside. 

By Alice Tynan