Happy new year!

We wish you all a fantastic 2013, filled with good times, exciting challenges and mind-blowing films.

Welcome to our first edition of Widescreen 2013. After a lovely break, we are back refreshed and excited about MIFF 2013 and the vibe in the MIFF office is relaxed and inspired. As we sort venues, festival artwork, staffing and logistics, we are buzzing about all the exciting-sounding films we shall see imminently.

Time to pull out the '80s parkas and thermals as we head northwards to Sundance and Rotterdam festivals, with that great dame the Berlinale to follow in February. All three festivals feature a substantial Australian presence in their film programs so we look forward to seeing them on the big screen with an international crowd. Though we are very much focused on putting together the 2013 program, we still have some fun activities coming up in the coming months. As well as our members screenings (starting with a bang in January with COMPLIANCE and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK), upcoming MIFF programs will be on offer in the Autumn at the Moonlight Cinemas and in Federation Square. Stay tuned for more details on those.

Thanks again to all our supporters – i.e. YOU – and here's to a brilliant 2013.

Michelle Carey
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

In this edition of Widescreen:

* January Members Screenings

* 2013 Submissions Open

* MIFF Premiere Fund News

* Focus Forward Film Competition Winners

* Giveaways

- Paul Kelly DVD

- Flight

- Django Unchained

JANUARY MEMBERS SCREENING

This month MIFF Members were treated to preview screenings of two much anticipated films, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and COMPLIANCE. Pretty sweet way to kick off the oh-thirteen.

You can sign up for a 12 month MIFF Membership any time, and this year we'll be introducing some awesome new partnerships and offers, exclusive to MIFF Members.

This is in addition to all the other brilliant benefits available year round - like the complimentary monthly film screenings, cinema-partner discounts, and of course, the red carpet treatment during festival-time.

Ready to join us?

2013 FILM SUBMISSIONS OPEN

The year is already off to a racing start, so don't forget that 2013 MIFF film submissions are open now, until February 21.

The team at MIFF considers and programs films from all over the world, so make sure you submit so that we can consider your masterpiece for our 2013 festival.

We accept all types of feature length films as well as short fiction, documentary, animation and experimental films.

Eligible short films are screened in competition in the Shorts Awards, which are Academy®, AACTA and BAFTA accredited and come with cash prizes. Read all the submission details and enter your film now!

MIFF PREMIERE FUND NEWS – BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL MAKES HUMMUS!

Following its world premiere at MIFF 2012, MIFF Premiere Fund-supported film MAKE HUMMUS NOT WAR has been officially selected to screen at February's prestigious Berlin International Film Festival.

MAKE HUMMUS NOT WAR is a deadly serious humorous film that explores age-old Middle Eastern issues of land, identity and heritage through the prism of the origin - and regional-wide love -  of Hummus. See the website for the trailer, background information - and lots of hummus recipes!

MIFF PREMIERE FUND APPLICATIONS OPEN

The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), through the Government of Victoria, has a production co-financing fund for supporting new Australian theatrical films and feature-length documentaries that will premiere at MIFF.

Round 19 of the MIFF Premiere Fund, which seeks 2014 and 2015 premieres, is open for submissions with applications closing on 04 February and decisions due by late March.

For guidelines and application forms, go to www.miffpremierefund.com

FOCUS FORWARD FILMMAKER COMPETITION – WINNERS ANNOUNCED

News straight in from Sundance! MIFF2012 partner Focus Forward has announced the winners of their mega $200,000 short form, documentary Filmmaker Competition. Congratulations!

The $100,000 Grand Jury Prize Winner: CYBORG FOUNDATION, by Rafel Duran Torrent

2^nd Prize Winner THE ARTIFICIAL LEAF, by Jared P Scott & Kelly Nyks

3^rd Prize Winner SLINGSHOT, by Paul Lazarus

4^th Prize Winner BONES DON'T LIE AND DON'T FORGET, by Kim Munsamy

5^th prize Winner MINE KAFON, by Callum Cooper

PAUL KELLY: STORIES OF ME DVD

Debuting at MIFF2012, PAUL KELLY - STORIES OF ME charts the remarkable life of one of Australia’s most gifted and beloved singer-songwriters. 

For the first time in a feature length film, the man behind the music is revealed. Featuring rare archival footage, never-before-seen live performances, interviews with Kelly’s family members, former and current band members, music contemporaries and many more.

Thanks to Madman, we have 5 DVDs to giveaway. Email widescreen@miff.com.au with PAUL in the subject, your name, address and the answer to this question: What's the name Paul Kelly's song that name checks the MCG?

FLIGHT

In this action-packed mystery thriller, Denzel Washington stars as Whip Whitaker, a seasoned airline pilot, who miraculously crash lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, saving nearly every soul on board. After the crash, Whip is hailed as a hero, but as more is learned, more questions than answers arise. What really happened on that plane? FLIGHT is in cinemas January 31.

Thanks to Paramount, we have 10 in-season double passes to giveaway. To win, email widescreen@miff.com.au with FLIGHT in the subject, your name & address, and the answer to this Question: Name another film about surviving a plane crash

DJANGO UNCHAINED

Quentin Tarantino's latest is set in the South, two years before the Civil War. Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a slave who is driven to increasingly desperate measures to reclaim his freedom and rescue Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. With a cast including Australia's own John Jarratt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained is in cinemas January 24.

Thanks to Sony Pictures, we have 10 in season double passes to giveaway. To win, email widescreen@miff.com.au with DJANGO in the subject, your name & address, and the answer to this Question: Tarantino is famously a fan of Oz cinema. What was the name of the doco he was in, that traced the history of maverick 70s/80s Aussie films?