Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is coming back this August for its 72nd year. Look forward to a massive program of over 250 features, shorts and XR experiences over 18 days. On top of the screenings, you can expect a line-up of special events, with talks, international guest appearances and retrospectives around the city. MIFF will return to cinemas in Melbourne and surrounds from August 8 to 25.
The festival will also take over regional locations, including Bendigo, Ballarat, Castlemaine, Echuca, Geelong, Rosebud and Shepparton. MIFF Regional will run from August 16 to 18 and 23 to 25. There will also be a limited selection of festival highlights available to stream online, from August 9 to 25.
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)
Premiere Fund
Beloved filmmaker Adam Elliot will unveil Memoir of a Snail at the Opening Night Gala on Thursday August 8. This stop-motion film arrives 20 years after his Academy Award win for Harvie Krumpet. This new claymation masterpiece features plenty of iconic voices, including Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Magda Szubanski, Eric Bana, Tony Armstrong, Nick Cave and Jackie Weaver.
“It is truly a Melbourne film and MIFF is the perfect place for its Australian premiere,” said Elliot. “About Melbourne, made by Melburnians and voiced by Melburnians, Memoir of a Snail is a handmade stop-motion film lovingly crafted by a team of local artists. Opening night at MIFF will be a celebration of their artistry and a celebration of this wonderful city in which we live.”
Other titles in the MIFF Premiere Fund category include Magic Beach, an animated reimagining of the classic Australian children’s book and Ellis Park, a film about rock n roll legend Warren Ellis and his project to establish an animal sanctuary in Sumatra.
Headliners
See Megalopolis for one very special screening at IMAX. This movie by Francis Ford Coppola was 40 years in the making, and created with $120 million of his own money. Made with complete creative freedom, this passion project stars Adam Driver, Jon Voight and Shia LeBeouf.
Watch All We Imagine as Light, a sensuous tale of three nurses, their romantic entanglements and a trip to the coast. Directed by Payal Kapadia, this was the first Indian film to screen in competition at Cannes in 30 years. There, it received the prestigious Grand Prix award.
For some gory feminist body horror, catch The Substance. Winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes, this production stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid.
Other notable headliners include Grand Tour, which won Best Director at Cannes, A Different Man starring Sebastian Stan and Rumours, which features Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander and Charles Dance.
International Titles
MIFF has revealed an early glimpse into their massive program of over 250 films this year.
Get ready for I Saw the TV Glow, an A24 production by director Jane Schoenbrun. This mind-blowing movie explores the way that technology, art and pop culture can be lifelines for outsides, and looks at themes of gender, queerness and identity. Packed with pop culture Easter eggs, it’s set to be one of the most talked about films of the year.
Watch the recent Cannes Critics’ Week award winner, Blue Sun Palace by Constance Tsang. This film explores the complexities of the migrant experience. Follow two recently arrived Chinese workers in New York City, and watch an unexpected act of violence bring the pair together in an unlikely bond.
See Grand Theft Hamlet, winner of SXSW’s Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature. Watch locked-down actors take Shakespeare to the streets of Grand Theft Auto.
Watch Hunter Schafer go head-to-head with Dan Stevens in Cuckoo, a wacky yet sinister spin on the horror genre.
And see Elijah Wood star as a illusionist father to an 11-year-old bibliophile, and watch them embark on a quest in the New Zealand wilderness in the charming film, Bookworm.
MIFF XR
Feel immersed with kajoo yannaga (come on let’s walk together). Presented by Now or Never and ACMI, this experience is guided by First Nations knowledge. Embark on a cinematic journey with the help of real-time motion tracking to map your body movement.
Discover hidden stories, solve puzzles and evade mysterious entities in The Memphis Chronicles: Water’s Edge. Directed by Mike Robbins and Harmke Heezen, this otherworldly experience represents the subconscious and the space between dying and the afterlife.
Feel transported into the living room of a retired playwright in Lui Avallos’ Queer Utopia: Act 1 Cruising. Inspired by real accounts from queer elders, this experience explores the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights.
Special events
To celebrate the Australian premiere of Memoir of a Snail, ACMI will host some of the custom sets and characters from the film in their centrepiece exhibition, The Story of the Moving Image. See reimagined Melbourne locations in the film, and check out a selection of puppets. Learn about the technical and creative skills needed to create each shot. The display will also feature storyboards drawn by Adam Elliot, as well as behind the scenes footage of the animators at work.
Relieve your favourite moments of cinema’s favourite kaiju with a Godzilla 70th Anniversary Marathon. With seven feature screenings in one night, this celebration will kick off with a 4K screening of the original 1954 film.
Head out of the city for a fulldome showcase at Melbourne Planetarium, and enjoy an immersive screening of Magic Beach at the relaxing Peninsula Hot Springs.
Listen to international and local guests in the MIFF Talks program. Presented by the Universidy of Melbourne, you’ll hear from filmmakers, academics, critics and commentators.
Food and Drink
The Campari Cinema Lounge will return to ACMI. Unwind with cocktails and DJs in this late-night space.
Pop over to the MIFF Festival Hub for more food and drink in between films. Expect a menu from Miss Pearl, coffee from St ALi, fragrance from Aesop and drinks by Yering Station, Asahi and Campari.
MIFF also has some cool Food and Film pairings for you to try. They’ve matched seven restaurants with a selection of films from the program. Participating venues include Bar Lourinhã, Victoria by Farmer’s Daughter, Cumulus Inc., Miss Pearl at the Festival Hub, Supernormal, Sunda and Bossley Restaurant and Bar.
That’s just scratching the surface of everything you can look forward to this year. To explore the current program, click here.