Melbourne International Film Festival

Annual Australian film festival

Melbourne International Film Festival

Location| Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Founded| 1952
Artistic director| Al Cossar
No. of films| 300 (approx.)
Website| www.miff.com.au

The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Festival in 1932, Cannes Film Festival in 1939 and Berlin Film Festival in 1951.

Currently held in the month of August from 8th to 25th in 2024 and spanning events in the Melbourne CBD as well as inner-suburban and regional Victoria, MIFF screens films from both Australia and across the world to an audience of approximately 150,000.[1] It is the largest film festival in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, and is the world’s largest showcase of new Australian cinema.[2] The 2022 festival contributed A$9.7 million to the City of Melbourne’s economy.[1]

Alongside its expansive and well-received film program, MIFF realizes its vision, “An enlightened, inclusive, engaged society through film”,[2] via its renowned industry programs (the co-financing fund Premiere Fund, the talent incubator program Accelerator Lab and the film-financing market 37°South), its skill-building initiatives for youth (MIFF Schools and Critics Campus), and the MIFF Awards that recognize both short- and longform filmmaking talent.

## History

[edit]

MIFF was originally launched as the Olinda Film Festival in 1952 after a group of delegates to the 1951 Australian Council of Film Societies suggested that a film event be established in the eponymous tourist town. It was renamed the Melbourne Film Festival in 1953 and held this title over many decades before transforming into the Melbourne International Film Festival.[3][4] Appointed in 1956, Erwin Rado was the festival’s first director, holding the role until 1979 and returning for a single-year stint in 1983;[3] the Australian Dictionary of Biography notes that he shaped the film event’s character with his “uncompromising drive for excellence”.[5]

Following Rado, the festival was headed up by Geoffrey Gardner (1980–1982), Paul Seto (1984), Paul Coulter (1985), Santina Musumeci (1986–1987), Tait Brady (1988–1996), Sandra Sdraulig (1997–2000), James Hewison (2001–2006), Richard Moore (2007–2010), Michelle Carey (2011–2018) and current artistic director Al Cossar (2019–present).[4][6]

## Film program

[edit]

The MIFF Opening Night Gala regularly takes place in the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall

MIFF’s annual program boasts around 300 titles spanning feature films, short films and XR (virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality), alongside a suite of galas, special events, activations and talks. In 2022, the festival screened 260 features, 111 shorts, 12 XR works, and 10 galas and special events, representing 82 countries of origin and 75 languages.[1]

## Film competitions

[edit]

MIFF’s short film competition, established in 1962,[4] is accredited by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.[7] Its inaugural award was ‘Best Short Film’, but the title was changed to ‘Grand Prix for Best Short Film’ in 1965. Since 1985, the Grand Prix has been presented by the City of Melbourne.[8]

In 2022, this was complemented by a feature-length competition for first- and second-time directors, the Bright Horizons Award (presented by VicScreen), whose winner receives a A$140,000 prize; as well as the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award, which recognizes an outstanding Australian creative with a A$70,000 cash prize. As of 2023, the MIFF Awards slate has been expanded to also include the First Nations Film Creative Award, which recognizes an outstanding Indigenous Australian creative with a prize worth $45,000; the Audience Award, as decided by public voting; and the MIFF Schools Youth Jury Award, crowning the best title from the student-focused MIFF Schools program.[9]

The Forum Theatre is a main venue for the short film competition, as well as festival panels and lectures

### Feature film awards

[edit]

* Bright Horizons Award
* Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award
* First Nations Film Creative Award
* Audience Award
* MIFF Schools Youth Jury Award

### Bright Horizons Award

[edit]

Introduced in 2022, the Bright Horizons Award presents a prize of A$140,000 in cash to a film judged as the best film in the Bright Horizons competition. It is the richest film prize in the southern hemisphere.[10]

The winners have been:

Year  | Film  | Director  | Country  | Ref

|
|
|
|

2022 | Neptune Frost | Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman | United States, Rwanda | [11]
2023 | Banel & Adama | Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France, Mali, Senegal | [12]
2024 | Universal Language | Matthew Rankin | Canada | [13]

### Short film awards

[edit]

In 2023 Campari was the Shorts Awards Presenting Partner, and the Venue Partner ACMI. The Shorts Awards are all accredited by Academy Awards, and the 2023 winners of the Best Short Film, Best Australian Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, and Best Animation Short Film awards were eligible to submit their films for the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. The MIFF Shorts program is also BAFTA-Qualifying; any British film screened in the 2023 festival was eligible for entry in the British Short Film and British Short Animation categories of the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards. The 2023 awards were as follows:[14]

* City of Melbourne Grand Prix for Best Short Film
* VicScreen Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film
* Award for Emerging Australian Filmmaker
* Award for Best Fiction Short Film
* Award for Best Documentary Short Film
* Award for Best Animation Short Film
* Award for Best Experimental Short Film

As of 2019[update] awards for short films were:[15][16]

* City of Melbourne Grand Prix for Best Short Film – $7,000 cash prize (Academy-accredited Award)
* Melbourne Airport Award for Emerging Australian Filmmaker – $5,000 cash prize + airfare to Berlinale
* Film Victoria Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film – $5,000 cash prize
* Cinema Nova Award for Best Fiction Short Film – $3,000 cash prize (Academy-accredited Award)
* RMIT University Award for Best Animation Short Film – $3,000 cash prize (Academy-accredited Award)
* RMIT University Award for Best Documentary Short Film – $3,000 cash prize
* MIFF Award for Best Experimental Short Film – $3,000 cash prize (Academy-accredited Award)

### Winners of Grand Prix for Best Short Film

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Director  | Country

|
|
|

1965  | La gazza ladra | Giulio Giannini, Emanuele Luzzati | Italy
1966  | The Inheritance | Harold Mayer  | United States
1967  | Petrol-Carburant-Kraftstoff | Hugo Niebeling  | West Germany
1968  | You're Human Like the Rest of Them | B. S. Johnson | UK
1969  | Pas de deux | Norman McLaren | Canada
1970  | Calcutta | Louis Malle | France
1971  | Blake | Bill Mason | Canada
1972  | Scarabus | Gérald Frydman  | Belgium
1973  | Street Musique | Ryan Larkin | Canada
1974  | Edward Burra | Peter K. Smith  | UK
1975  | Last Grave at Dimbaza | Nana Mahamo  | South Africa
1976  | Leisure | Bruce Petty | Australia
1977  | Corralejas de Sincelejo | Mario Mitrotti  | Colombia
1978  | Manimals | Robin Lehman | United States
1979  | Malj | Aleksandar Ilic  | Yugoslavia
1980  | Interview | Caroline Leaf | Canada
1981  | New York Story | Jackie Raynal  | United States
1982  | Shadows | Royden Irvine  | Australia
1983  | Douglas Mawson: The Survivor | David Parer | Australia
1984  | Aquí se lo halla | Lee Sokol  | United States
1985  | In Heaven There Is No Beer? | Les Blank | United States
1986  | My Life Without Steve | Gillian Leahy  | Australia
1987  | Panya shugeki | Naoto Yamakawa  | Japan
1988  | The Critical Years | Gerald L'Ecuyer | Canada/United States
1989  | Twilight City | Reece Auguiste  | UK
1990  | Swimming | Belinda Chayko | Australia
1991  | Sink or Swim | Su Friedrich | United States
1992  | The Writing in the Sand | Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen | UK
1993  | Lektionen in Finsternis | Werner Herzog | Germany
1994  | Only the Brave | Ana Kokkinos | Australia
1995  | Twilight | Tengai Amano | Japan
1996  | Baka | Thierry Knauff  | Belgium
1997  | At Sea | Penny Fowler-Smith  | Australia
1998  | The Storekeeper | Gavin Hood | South Africa
1999  | So-poong | Song Il-gon | South Korea
2000  | Wildlife | Kate de Pury  | UK
2001  | Muakah | Hadar Friedlich  | Israel
2002  | Palace II | Kátia Lund, Fernando Meirelles | Brazil
2003  | Destino | Dominique Monfery  | France
2004  | Talking with Angels | Yousaf Ali Khan  | UK
2005  | Silent Companion | Elham Hosseinzadeh  | Iran
2006  | Avatar | Lluis Quilez  | Spain
2007  | Blood Sisters | Louise N.D. Friedberg  | Denmark
2008  | Dennis | Mads Matthiesen  | Denmark
2009  | Next Floor | Denis Villeneuve, Phoebe Greenberg  | Canada
2010  | The Lost Thing | Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann  | Australia
2011  | A Fine Young Man | Kevan Funk | Canada
2012  | It’s Not A Cowboy Movie | Benjamin Parent  | France
2013  | Pandas | Matúš Vizár  | Czech Republic
2014  | The Queen | Benjamin Parent  | Argentina
2015  | Everything Will Be OK | Patrick Vollrath  | Germany
2016  | Mrs Metro | Aggelos Papantoniou  | Australia

## Controversies

[edit]

### Breakaway film festival (2000)

[edit]

In 2000, MIFF's rejection of a feature film written and directed by Richard Wolstencroft led him to form the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF). In subsequent years, MUFF has attracted controversy by criticising the content of MIFF, as well as its management, specifically the leadership of former directors. MUFF sees itself as a space for exciting and edgy Australian cinema that may not be played at MIFF.[17][18]

### Looking for Eric (2009)

[edit]

In June 2009, Ken Loach, Paul Laverty (writer) and Rebecca O'Brien (producer) pulled their film Looking for Eric from the festival because the Israeli Embassy was a sponsor and the festival declined to withdraw their sponsorship. Moore compared Loach's tactics to blackmail, stating that "we will not participate in a boycott against the State of Israel, just as we would not contemplate boycotting films from China or other nations involved in difficult long-standing historical disputes".[19]

### Uyghur film (2009)

[edit]

During the 58th festival in 2009, the film The 10 Conditions of Love (2009), which documents the life of the exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, was screened despite many attempts by the Government of China to have the film withdrawn from the festival. Chinese filmmakers withdrew their films from the festival two days before it opened on 24 July 2009.[20] Former MIFF director Richard Moore refused to remove the film from the festival program,[21] despite the hacking of the festival website and attempts to hack its online ticketing system from IP addresses of Chinese origin. Later, both pro-Chinese and pro-Uyghur activists attempted to disrupt ticketing due to the media coverage.[22][23][24] The Chinese Government contacted Robert Doyle, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne asking him to intervene,[25] but he refused. Australia's Ambassador to China Geoff Raby was summoned by China's Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun to express displeasure about Kadeer's attendance at MIFF.[26]

Victoria Police was placed on alert during the screening of the film and Pro-Uighur demonstrators also gathered outside the Melbourne Town Hall,[25] and the Dalai Lama sent a message of support via Michael Danby, the MP for Melbourne Ports:[27]

## See also

[edit]

* Film festival
* List of film festivals
* List of short film festivals
* St Kilda Short Film Festival
* Cinema of Australia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Melbourne International Film Festival: 2022 Year in Review" (PDF). Melbourne International Film Festival. 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
2. ^ a b "About Us". Melbourne International Film Festival. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
3. ^ a b Stevens, Kirsten; Radstone, Susannah (August 2020). "Making the Festival". Festival Files. Melbourne International Film Festival. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
4. ^ a b c Stevens, Kirsten (2016). Australian Film Festivals: Audience, Place, and Exhibition Culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
5. ^ Markus, Andrew (2012). "Rado, Erwin Aladar (1914–1988)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
6. ^ "Festival Archive (1992–2022)". Melbourne International Film Festival.
7. ^ "Short Film Competition Regulations". Melbourne International Film Festival. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
8. ^ "Melbourne International Film Festival". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. 1990–2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
9. ^ "MIFF Awards". Melbourne International Film Festival. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
10. ^ Geraets, Nell (20 August 2022). "MIFF best film winner: Neptune Frost". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
11. ^ Jessica Kiang, "‘Neptune Frost,’ ‘Sweet As’ Win Top Prizes in Melbourne International Film Festival’s Inaugural Competitions". Variety, August 20, 2022.
12. ^ Guy Lodge, "Senegalese Debut ‘Banel & Adama,’ Soda Jerk’s ‘Hello Dankness’ Top Award Winners at Melbourne Film Festival". Variety, August 19, 2023.
13. ^ Jamie Casemore, "Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language feted in Melbourne". Playback, August 26, 2024.
14. ^ "MIFF Shorts Awards". MIFF 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
15. ^ "MIFF Archive:". MIFF 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
16. ^ "2019 MIFF Shorts Awards". MIFF 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
17. ^ Richard Wolstencroft (2 August 2013). "The Opening Night of the 14th MUFF. Jugular by JJ DeCeglie. Discovering exciting and edgy new Australian Cinema. That's how we roll. That's what we prioritise. That is our mandate. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDhJclDF3hU&feature=player_embedded". MUFF on Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
18. ^ Avrille Bylok Collard (9 August 2013). "Melbourne Underground Film Festival Announces Dates". Beat. Furst Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
19. ^ "Email exchanges between Ken Loach, Paul Laverty, Rebecca O'Brien and the Melbourne Film Festival organizers". Pulse Media. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
20. ^ "Chinese entries boycott film festival". ABC News. 22 July 2009. Archived from the original on 23 July 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
21. ^ "MIFF 'sticking to guns' over Uighur film". ABC News. 27 July 2009. Archived from the original on 29 July 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
22. ^ "MIFF website hacked amid Chinese film row". ABC News. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
23. ^ pers comm. R.Raulings, director eFirst
24. ^ "Chinese hackers attack film festival site". ABC News. 1 August 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
25. ^ a b Gus Goswell (10 August 2009). "Demonstrators turn out at Kadeer film screening". ABC News. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
26. ^ ABC/Reuters (1 August 2009). "China summons Australia over Uighur leader visit". ABC News. Retrieved 11 August 2013. `{{cite news}}`: `|author=` has generic name (help)
27. ^ Dalai Lama sends message of support to Kadeer \- ABC News, 9 August 2009

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Events in the Melbourne central business district

Note: this includes events held in the Melbourne central business district and its immediate surrounds, not the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area

Summer|

* All: One Day International Cricket

* December: Boxing Day Test
* Carols by Candlelight

* January: Australian Open
* Midsumma Festival

* February: St Kilda Festival
* Herald Sun Tour

Autumn|

* March: Australian Grand Prix
* Melbourne Fashion Festival
* Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
* Moomba Festival
* Melbourne SuperSprint

* April: Anzac Day parade
* AFL Anzac Day match
* Melbourne International Comedy Festival
* Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show
* Melbourne Queer Film Festival
* Melbourne Motor Show

Winter|

* All: Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series

* June: Rising Festival
* AFL King's Birthday match
* Melbourne International Animation Festival

* July:
* Melbourne International Film Festival
* Open House Melbourne

* August: Melbourne Day
* Melbourne Underground Film Festival
* Melbourne Writers Festival

Spring|

* September: AFL Grand Final
* Melbourne Fringe Festival
* Melbourne International Festival of Brass
* Melbourne Royal Show
* Sandown 500

* October: Around the Bay in a Day
* Melbourne International Games Week
* Melbourne International Jazz Festival
* Melbourne Marathon Festival
* Spring Racing Carnival

* November: Head of the Yarra
* Melbourne Cup

See also
Landmarks in the Melbourne City Centre
Theatres in the Melbourne City Centre
*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template