1000 Women in Horror
From the silent era until today, the nightmares that have haunted our screen have been sculpted and embodied by women, but many of those artists have gone unrecognised – a historical oversight this documentary duly takes a chainsaw to.
1000 Women in Horror Surprise Double Feature
Follow up one of the documentary highlights of this year’s program with a terrifying double bill.
1001 Frames
Auditioning for the dream role of Scheherazade in One Thousand and One Nights becomes a nightmare in this form-blurring thriller.
400 Cassettes
Faye and Elly leave high school behind for a summer under a sky full of stars. But are they living in the moment, or in a past that’s only just coming to light?
5'12"
Following the death of his mother, a local oddball becomes inexplicably obsessed with growing one inch taller.
8 Billion Selves
Accelerator Shorts 2
Fresh talent. Bold stories. Meet the next generation of local filmmakers.
ACE
Riding along with his imaginary daredevil friend ACE, six-year-old Jimmy sets out on an epic quest to save his parents’ marriage.
Adam's Sake
Ali
In a coastal town where women are forbidden to sing, a teenage boy with an unusual gift joins a singing competition. Will he reveal his true voice?
Alice
An evocative portrait of trans Brazilian surfer, skateboarder and artist Alice Barbosa as she builds her identity in a country fraught with prejudice and violence.
All I Had Was Nothingness
Four decades after the release of Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, this contemporary reflection shines a light on the formidable documentary’s making and legacy.
Alphabet Lane
An isolated couple reinvigorate their relationship with parallel imaginary correspondences in this offbeat exploration of the mysteries of love.
Ana & Oto
In Rio de Janeiro, a filmmaker follows the misadventures of two young adults in existential crisis.
Another Other
Wesley Snipes and former Harvard president Claudine Gay star in this cleverly juxtaposed meeting of Black American figures interrogated by white state officials.
April
Local authorities close in on a rural Georgian doctor, leaving her with nowhere to run.
The Arch
This newly 4K-restored masterwork – made when its director was just 27 – was one of the earliest independent arthouse films in Hong Kong.
Archipelago of Earthen Bones — To Bunya
Luminous images and hypnotic sounds from the Gondwana rainforest metamorphose into a landscape of ancient secrets and dazzling dreams.
As If the Earth Had Swallowed Them Up
Returning to her hometown in Mexico, Olivia is flooded with childhood memories. At first, they’re happy – but then she remembers the moment when everything changed.
The Bad Guys 2
The felonious critters are back for one last caper – and this time, they’re doing it for the girls.
The Ballad of Wallis Island
The Baltimorons
In this SXSW Audience Award winner, a dental mishap plays cupid for a washed-up comedian and a disillusioned dentist on a life-changing Christmas Eve.
Beast of War
When an Australian warship is sunk by Japanese fighter jets, the surviving soldiers are thrown into an all-out battle for survival against a giant shark.
Beauty and the Beast
Forget talking teacups and comic candelabra: you’ll never think about the classic fairytale the same after you’ve experienced Juraj Herz’s macabre, subversive fantasy.
Best MIFF Shorts
A program of the award-winning short films, as chosen the MIFF Shorts Awards jury.
Birthright
Drawing battlelines between baby boomers and millennials, this theatrical pitch-black comedy offers a fresh slice of Australian Gothic.
Black Ox
A farmer descends from a mountain in this Zen Buddhist meditation on the modernisation of Japan that boasts stunning celluloid imagery.
Bleat!
When a male goat who was raised to be a sacrificial offering falls pregnant, a remote Tamil community wonders if it’s a curse or a miracle.
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Poetry, politics and the layered history of the Black experience collide in this pulsating, kaleidoscopic essay film
Bloodline
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, the European bison now dwells only in the forests of Poland and Belarus – putting it right on the frontlines of border patrols.
Blue Moon
Ethan Hawke brings legendary Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart to life in Richard Linklater’s A-list ensemble portrait of fallen stardom.
The Blue Trail
Taking home the Berlinale Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, this brightly coloured odyssey is a spirited rebuke to ageism.
BMX Bandits
No mere stackhat can restrain Nicole Kidman’s irrepressible teenage curls in this freshly restored Aussie action classic.
The Body
Jane spends her days playing a corpse on true-crime TV. At night, she tries to wash it all off, but the feelings start to stick.
Brand New Landscape
Fresh from its Cannes premiere, 26-year-old director Yuiga Danzuka’s poignant family drama is an assured portrait of emotional and urban isolation.
Breaking the Line: The Peta Searle Story
In 2004, Peta Searle’s playing career was cut short by a career-ending injury. Coaching was never part of the plan, until her club Darebin – a struggling club in crisis – begged her to take the reins. What followed was nothing short of revolutionary.
A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers
In 1980s Taiwan, a young woman’s trip to the cinema – to see Dario Argento’s Deep Red – awakens sexual desires and celluloid dreams.
Bush Boots
In Mooroopna, boots hit the dirt long before they hit the big stage. Bush Boots celebrates the Indigenous footy kids and the community role models guiding them, on and off the field.
But Also John Clarke
For over 40 years, the iconic John Clarke tickled the funny bones of Australian and New Zealand audiences. Now, in this intimately produced documentary, hear his story in his own words.
Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt
Their irreverent, X-rated and sometimes dangerous live shows were the stuff of legend – but now, the Texas psych-punk jesters finally bare all.
By Design
In this absurdist satire, a woman is magically transformed into a chair – and discovers that everyone likes her better that way.
Cactus Pears
The unsaid speaks volumes in this Sundance Grand Jury Prize–winning, Marathi-language queer romance set in rural India.
Careless
In a country where ageing has become a business, this funny, moving documentary follows elderly people’s fight to grow old their way.
Caries
Inside the mouth of a vain weather presenter, a shaman attempts to create her masterpiece while battling storms of soup and toothpaste.
Chain Reactions
The winner of the Best Documentary on Cinema prize at Venice revs up and rips into perhaps the greatest slasher movie ever made: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Chantal Akerman: Her First Look Behind the Camera
The beginnings of Akerman’s signature style are captured in these early experimental short films she made at the age of 17.
