- Festivals
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Melbourne International Film Festival is Now Open
The 70th edition of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) kicked off August 4 with an Australian classic in the making; Goran Stolevski’s Of an Age.
The Australian-Macedonian filmmaker’s second film follows the brief but lingering romance between two young men over the course of one sweltering summer’s day in Melbourne in the late 1990s.
The film has already been picked up by Focus Features in the U.S. and celebrated its world premiere at the Opening Night Gala, also attended by its stars Elias Anton, Thom Green, and Hattie Hook. Stolevski’s debut feature, You Won’t Be Alone, premiered at Sundance earlier this year to rave reviews and is featured in the program as well.
It was a surreal moment for the writer-director whose short film Would You Look at Her won Best International Short at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. “Premiering as opening night film is, obviously, very exciting under any circumstances,” the Melbourne native acknowledges. “I’ve been coming to MIFF since 2004, watching 60 films in a row and being very used to sitting in these theatres myself. So, I could not be more excited!”
For the first time in three years, MIFF is back in person with 18 days of action-packed cinema, a series of special anniversary events, live gigs, immersive experiences, curated talks, and even a Dolly Parton-themed party.
MIFF’s stellar guest line-up combines accomplished artists, legendary auteurs, and fresh film voices. Academy Award-nominee Brett Morgen attends fresh from his Cannes Film Festival triumph with the David Bowie documentary, Moonage Daydream.
Opening weekend includes the wildly outrageous Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, the Cannes Grand Prix-winning romance Stars at NoonCall Jane, starring Elizabeth Banks and Golden Globe winner Sigourney WeaverKāinga, with all eight of the film’s directors joining the festival from New Zealand.
Artistic Director, Al Cossar, is looking forward to seeing audiences come together again. “We are so thrilled and grateful to return MIFF to Melbourne in our 70th year in what will be a true adventure across cinema, and a chance for artists and audiences to reconnect and celebrate after years of separation.”
MIFF is also reinforcing its role as an industry trailblazer by showcasing local talent on a global stage with the new AUSD$140,000 (US$96,800+) Bright Horizons Best Film Award.
The jury for that inaugural award includes Emmy award-winning filmmaker Lynette Wallworth, Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (Animal Kingdom, True Detective), actor and director Shareena Clanton (Wentworth, Last Cab to Darwin), and Indonesian film director and screenwriter Mouly Surya (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts).
The festival program includes Kristoffer Borgli’s pitch-black satire Sick of MyselfRiley Keough and Gina Gammell’s Cannes Camera d’Or-winning War PonyGeorge Miller’s dreamy Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Golden Globe nominee Tilda Swinton.
Other highly anticipated films are the outrageous Palme d’Or winner, Triangle of Sadness, the Cannes Grand Prix-winning romance Stars at NoonNavalny.
As well as having the chance to party at a Dolly Parton-themed extravaganza celebrating the Gracie Otto film Seriously Red, the festival offers a series of MIFF Talks events, including Franklin director Kasimi Burgess and the documentary’s subject, Oliver Cassidy, discussing environmental activism on screen alongside Delikado director Karl Malakunas, who will be visiting from the Philippines.
In another highly curated moment, MIFF Ambassador Justin Kurzel (Nitram) will be featured in a unique event re-introducing the 1998 cinema gem The Sound of One Hand Clapping. Later that same day, Kurzel will be hosting a conversation with the Booker Prize-winning novelist Richard Flanagan. The film’s co-star, Essie Davis, who happens to be married to Kurzel, will take part in the conversation.
Melbourne may still be battling Covid and suffering a particularly cold winter but seven decades of sell-out crowds suggest it would take more than that to stop passionate MIFF fans from leaning into their rich cinematic history, now ready for rediscovery.