Relive the most thrilling moments of Australia’s beloved tennis tournament in this chronicle of its ascent to top-seed status on the global stage.

The Australian Open is one of the world’s four tennis Grand Slams, but its early days in 1970s Kooyong were humble – a far cry from its current, cutting-edge home at Melbourne Park. Now the highest-profile sporting event in the country, the Open has hosted innumerable tennis legends and iconic matches, such as Serena and Venus Williams’s finals clash in 2017. Infamous for the larrikinism of its crowd, it has also become both a celebration of greatness and a site for the playing-out of social issues, from Aboriginal and queer representation to border control.

This heart-pumping documentary from The Leadership (MIFF 2020) director Ili Baré thrusts you back to the stadium roars and down-the-line shots, interweaving archival material with footage from some of the Open’s most legendary games. Featuring interviews with sports journalists (Tracey Holmes, George Megalogenis), industry figures (Paul McNamee, Craig Tiley), and players old and new (Pat Cash, Rennae Stubbs, Liam Broady), it also explores sport’s relationship with patriotic pride, athletes’ duality as heroes and humans, and the controversies courted by this million-dollar business. From the producers of The Australian Dream (MIFF 2019) and supported by the MIFF Premiere Fund, Australia’s Open is a candid account that illuminates just how entwined the stories of the tournament and the nation truly are.

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Director Ili Baré will be in attendance for the screenings on Saturday 12 and Monday 14 August.