Each year MIFF takes great pride in presenting a selection of the latest and finest films to come out of Australia. Running the gamut from wry and distinctive to haunting and affective, Australian Showcase is a stirring testament to the enduring strength and creativity of our local film scene.

The Melbourne International Film Festival is an Inside Film accredited festival. All current Australian content screening in the Melbourne International Film Festival is eligble for rhe Inside Film Awards. You can register your score by filling in the score sheets (available at the screening) or by logging on to ifawards.com

	33 POSTCARDS (M) (Australia/China, 97 min) An inter-continental journey with a little girl lost and an adult looking to be found. For Mei Mei (Zhu Lin), escaping her orphan upbringing and becoming part of a real family is a dream that has forever seemed impossibly out of reach. When her orphanage travels to Australia to take part in the Australian Choir Festival, Mei Mei's one chance at happiness lies in the hands of her sponsor Dean (Guy Pearce), but the man she finds is not what she expected. More >
	THE CURSE OF THE GOTHIC SYMPHONY (Australia, 80 min) "It's the musical equivalent of climbing Everest, trekking through the South Pole, sending a man to the moon." Requiring two orchestras, four brass bands, five choirs and six-hundred people, the Gothic Symphony by English composer Havergal Brian is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest, longest and most complex symphony ever composed. More >
	THE EYE OF THE STORM (MA15+) (Australia, 114 min) Fred Schepisi returns with an engaging take on the acclaimed 1973 novel by Australian Nobel laureate Patrick White. As the wealthy and powerful Mrs Hunter (Charlotte Rampling) approaches death, her unscrupulous children, Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis) return to the family estate. Long alienated from a mother they barely knew, and themselves having fallen upon hard times, they scheme of ways to win her vast inheritance. But united again in the family home, all three begin to awkwardly stumble toward a state of grace. More >
	FACE TO FACE (Australia, 85 min) "A bristling little Australian indie that lands its many punches with pungent power." - Hollywood Reporter After Greg (Vince Colosimo) is attacked by a young employee outside his home, he finds his life and his relationship with wife Claire (Sigrid Thornton) turned upside down, as a face-to-face intervention chaired by Jack (Matthew Newton) exposes secrets, lies and ever-increasing layers of complexity to a seemingly straight-forward story. More >
	THE HUNGRY TIDE (Australia, 87 min) “This is a marvellous film, strong in narrative, imagery, argument and character.” – Inside Story Seasoned filmmaker Tom Zubrycki (Molly & Mobarak, MIFF 2003; The Diplomat, MIFF 2000) shows the very human face of climate change with this urgent documentary.  More >
	I AM ELEVEN (Australia, 93 min) A global glimpse into the tumultuous, evolving experience of being 11 years old. Filmmaker Genevieve Bailey spent four years travelling the world talking to 11-year-olds to compose this gentle, funny and often affecting documentary portrait of cross-cultural childhood. From an orphanage in India to a single-parent household in inner-city Melbourne, I Am Eleven explores the lives and thoughts of children from 15 countries, speaking in 12 languages. Encompassing rich and poor, privileged and outcast, Bailey's film offers a unique insight into both what unites us, and what sets us apart. More >
	LIFE IN MOVEMENT (Australia, 79 min) "Life in Movement has become much more than a biography or even a tribute to Liedtke's unique character and talent… this film is a moment of triumph." – Advertiser In 2007, the prestigious Sydney Dance Company made a surprising announcement: their new artistic director, a job at the forefront of Australia dance, would be 29 year old Tanja Liedtke. Despite her age, Liedtke had already proved herself, first as a talented dancer, with DV8 Physical Theatre amongst others, and then as a unique and original choreographic voice. But before she could take up her new post, Liedtke was killed in a traffic accident, leaving friends, family and the contemporary dance world reeling in shock.   More >
	ON BORROWED TIME (Australia, 85 min) Documentarian David Bradbury brings us an affectionate portrait of the life and work of venerated Australian director Paul Cox. Arguably one of the most important filmmakers to come out of this country, and certainly one of the most prolific, director Paul Cox (Salvation, MIFF 2008; Human Touch, MIFF 2004; Innocence, MIFF 2000) occupies a unique place in the Australian film landscape. More >
	RED DOG (PG) (Australia, 92 min) From one of Australia's greatest filmmakers, Kriv Stenders (Boxing Day, MIFF 2007; Blacktown, MIFF 2005), comes the heartwarming tale of an Australian country town and the dog it loved. In Dampier, an isolated town deep in the Pilbara, a free-wheeling kelpie known as Red Dog lies close to death. As the townsfolk keep vigil by his bedside, they tell newcomer Tom (Luke Ford) tales of the dog's many exploits. More >
	SHUT UP LITTLE MAN! AN AUDIO MISADVENTU… (Australia, 85 min) "If you wanna talk to me then SHUT YOUR F**KEN MOUTH!" - Raymond Huffman In 1987, Eddie and Mitch found themselves living next door to Peter and Raymond - a flamboyant gay man and a raging homophobe who fired abuse at each other during nightly liquor-fuelled stoushes. The guys recorded these 'colourful' exchanges through the paper-thin walls and inadvertently created one of the world's first viral sensations - one which inspired a cult following on the cassette-zine circuit, spawned a stage play and multiple film projects, and made its way into the work of comic artist Dan Clowes (Ghost World) and the music of Devo. More >
	SWERVE (Australia, 87 min) A woman, two men and a suitcase of money - a lot can happen in the middle of nowhere. Pulsing with menace, writer-director Craig Lahiff's Swerve reorients the noir tradition, setting it within the quiet menace of the South Australian outback. More >
	TOOMELAH (Australia, 101 min) In the desolate reaches of an Aboriginal community, is the life of a ten year old already spent? Amidst the physically, emotionally and spiritually empty spaces of Toomelah, one of Australia's most impoverished Aboriginal communities, ten-year-old Daniel's life is sliding toward oblivion. All but abandoned by an uncaring mother and ruinously alcoholic father, Daniel falls in with a local drug dealer and his crew, only to find his new world of petty crime holds its own dangers. More >
	X (Australia, 85 min) A jaded call-girl. A fledgling hooker. The night from hell. The seedy underbelly of Sydney's red-light district becomes a violently dangerous place in filmmaker Jon Hewitt's X, the much-awaited follow-up to his dark 2008 serial killer romp, Acolytes. More >