In its 67th year, the 2018 MIFF features the festival’s largest ever selection of titles direct from Cannes, a collection of recently rediscovered and restored African cinema, a unique look at fashion, a focus on Indigenous stories and a retrospective look at the dazzling Italo-Crime genre.
There is some bad news though. If you’ve dragged your heels so far, some screenings are already sold out!
This year’s program, featuring another list of unique and inspiring films screening across 18 days, as always leaves you with one major challenge: which films are you going to watch?
If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve compiled a list of our faves (in no particular order) – yes it was difficult and yes, we left a whole bunch off. Don’t @ us. Actually, please do @ us so we can steal your picks as well! There are still tickets available to all of the below at the time of writing. Happy viewing!
What Walaa wants
What Walaa wants. Photo: MIFF
What Walaa wants. Photo: MIFF
Documentary
6 Aug, 6.45pm Kino Cinema 1
8 Aug, 6.30pm Kino Cinema 2
Quick summary: Inspiring, unique and mesmerising.
More information here
How’s this for a film premise: A tomboy in a hijab joins the police academy in Palestine. There’s one catch – this is real life. This coming-of-age documentary centres around brazen Palestinian teen Walaa, who isn’t interested in marrying and having children. Raised in a refugee camp, Walaa wants to become one of the only female police officers with the Palestinian National Authority. Canadian documentarian Christy Garland filmed Walaa over six years, gaining rare access to film inside the Palestinian Security Forces during Walaa’s training.
Capharnaüm
Capharnaum. Photo: MIFF
Capharnaum. Photo: MIFF
Drama
4 Aug, 1.45 pm Hoyts 11
9 Aug, 6.15 pm Forum Theatre
18 Aug, 4pm Forum Theatre
Quick summary: Dark, humane, empathetic and insightful
More information here
This story of a 12-year-old child attempting to divorce himself from his parents, received a 15-minute standing ovationas well as the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.The Nadine Labaki directed fable follows the story of Zain who wants to sue his parents “for giving [him] life”. Born in a family overwhelmed by too many children, slum neighbourhoods, a sister sold into marriage, deprivation and roaming the streets as the sole caretaker of an abandoned toddler – his grievances against the world and those who brought him into it reverberate with righteous fury.
The miseducation of Cameron Post
The miseducation of Cameron Post. Photo: MIFF
The miseducation of Cameron Post. Photo: MIFF
Drama
4 Aug, 6pm Regent Theatre
6 Aug, 6.30pm Comedy Theatre
Quick summary: Humble, heartbreaking, compassionate and wry.
More information here
Chloë Grace Moretz stars as a teen sent to a conversion therapy camp in the adaptation of Emily M Danforth’s acclaimed Young Adult novel. Directed by Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior – MIFF 2014) and winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize (US Dramatic), the story of Cameron Post, a recently orphaned adolescent girl caught in flagrante with another girl at her high-school prom and promptly shipped off to a ‘pray the gay away’ camp called God’s Promise.
Carriberrie
Carriberrie. Photo: MIFF
Carriberrie. Photo: MIFF
4 Aug, 7pm Melbourne Planetarium
5 Aug, 7pm Melbourne Planetarium
11 Aug, 7pm Melbourne Planetarium
Quick summary: Intimate, dynamic and breathtaking.
More information here
Part of one of the most dynamic showcases of Indigenous content in the festival’s history, Carriberrie is an exhilarating and immersive film that will be shown at Melbourne’s Planetarium.It tells the expansive story of Indigenous Australian song and dance, featuring Aboriginal dance theatre group Bangarra and actors Jack Charles and David Gulpilil. The 4 and 5 August sessions will feature a live dance performance.
Juliet, naked
Juliet, naked. Photo: MIFF
Juliet, naked. Photo: MIFF
Drama, comedy
3 Aug, 9.30 pm Comedy Theatre
16 Aug, 9.30 pm Comedy Theatre
Quick summary: Incisive, feel-good and funny.
More information here
Some of our all-time faves appear in this adaptation of Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel, including Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd and Ethan Hawke. The charming screwball rom-com about love, fandom and literally facing the music promises to be equal parts humorous and emotionally painful – exactly what you’d expect from Hornby’s work and director Jesse Peretz (Our Idiot Brother). Elusive cult rocker Tucker Crowe sends a rare recording of his last hit album to his ultimate fan, Duncan, only for his long-suffering partner Annie to listen to it, hate it, and post a negative review that Crowe surprisingly agrees with.
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Happy sad man
Happy sad man. Photo: MIFF
Happy sad man. Photo: MIFF
Australian documentary
12 Aug, 1.15pm ACMI 2
14 Aug, 6.30pm ACMI 2
Quick summary: Honest, heart-warming and eye-opening.
More information here
Genevieve Bailey (I Am Eleven) shines a light on men in our midst living with mental illness. did you know that if you’re an Australian male between the ages of 15 and 44, you’re your own biggest threat? This doco brings together the vibrant personalities and perspectives of five very different men – taking in their hopes, anxieties, joy and darkness – Happy Sad Man gives unforgettable voice to the complex emotional landscapes of modern masculinity.
The Cured
The cured. Photo: MIFF
The cured. Photo: MIFF
Horror
4 Aug, 6.30pm Hoyts 10
7 Aug, 9.30pm Hoyts 11
Quick summary: Unnerving, original and authentically scary.
More information here
We just can’t go past a good zombie flick, but this isn’t your usual end-of-the-world horror show. Ellen Page stars in a “bracingly original” post-zombie apocalypse drama that imagines what would happen if the infected were cured and returned to normal lives. Irish filmmaker David Freyne takes inspiration from the long tradition of zombie movie social commentary, and applies it to a simple yet inspired premise: what if the undead were cured and reintegrated into society, but forced to live with the guilt of their horrific actions?
Dying to live
Dying to live. Photo: MIFF
Dying to live. Photo: MIFF
Australian documentary
14 Aug, 6.30pm Hoyts 3
16 Aug, 6.45 pm Kino Cinema 1
Quick summary: Political, eye-opening and important.
More information here
Director Richard Todd stole our attention in his epic coal seam gas doco Frackman, and he’s back with another crusade set to hit home for contemporary Australia: the campaign for stronger organ donor awareness. Did you know Australia has one of the developed world’s lowest transplant participation rates? Nine strangers connected by organ and tissue transplants share a journey through Australia’s complicated medical system. We follow a bunch of ordinary Aussies through their organ donor journey, including Allan and Kim, whose daughter became the only child in Victoria under the age of 16 that year to have her organs and tissues donated.
Don’t worry, he won’t get far on foot
Don’t worry he won’t get far on foot. Photo: MIFF
Don’t worry he won’t get far on foot. Photo: MIFF
Drama, Comedy
5 Aug, 3pm Regent Theatre
8 Aug, 9pm Comedy Theatre
Quick summary: Life-affirming, pleasing and irreverent.
More information here
Based on the autobiography of cartoonist John Callahan, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot is the dynamic new film from Gus Van Sant. Joaquin Phoenix (yes, another Joaquin recommendation) plays Callahan – an alcoholic since his early teens who finds inspiration in AA from group leader Donnie (played by an unrecognisable Jonah Hill). The left-of-centre ensemble cast carries the narrative too, including Joaquin Phoenix, Jack Black, Rooney Mara, Beth Ditto, Kim Gordon and German oddball Udo Kier.
We the animals
We the animals. Photo: MIFF
We the animals. Photo: MIFF
Drama
5 Aug, 9pm Hoyts 10
17 Aug, 4pm Comedy Theatre
Quick summary: Entrancing, bold and refreshing.
More information here
Described as “this year’s Moonlight”, We the animals tells the story of Jonah and his two older brothers who live a seemingly idyllic existence of wildness, exploration and adventure, overseen by their doting white mother and domineering Puerto Rican father. But there is a darkness behind the façade.Documentarian Jeremiah Zagar crosses into feature films with this adaptation of Justin Torres’ semi-autobiographical novel. Amazingly, the film features a, Zagar coaxes entrancingly natural performances from a cast of non-actors for a story of family, identity and the path into adulthood.
