| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 |
| Artistic director | Al Cossar |
| No. of films | 300 (approx.) |
| Website | www |
TheMelbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annualfilm festival held over three weeks inMelbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of theVenice Film Festival in 1932,Cannes Film Festival in 1939 andBerlin Film Festival in 1951.
Currently held in the month of August from 8th to 25th in 2024 and spanning events in theMelbourne CBD as well as inner-suburban and regional Victoria, MIFF screens films from both Australia and across the world to an audience of approximately 150,000.[1] It is the largest film festival in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, and is the world’s largest showcase of newAustralian cinema.[2] The 2022 festival contributedA$9.7 million to theCity of Melbourne’s economy.[1]
Alongside its expansive and well-received film program, MIFF realizes its vision, “An enlightened, inclusive, engaged society through film”,[2] via its renowned industry programs (the co-financing fund Premiere Fund, the talent incubator program Accelerator Lab and the film-financing market 37°South), its skill-building initiatives for youth (MIFF Schools and Critics Campus), and the MIFF Awards that recognize both short- and longform filmmaking talent.
MIFF was originally launched as the Olinda Film Festival in 1952 after a group of delegates to the 1951 Australian Council of Film Societies suggested that a film event be established in theeponymous tourist town. It was renamed the Melbourne Film Festival in 1953 and held this title over many decades before transforming into the Melbourne International Film Festival.[3][4] Appointed in 1956, Erwin Rado was the festival’s first director, holding the role until 1979 and returning for a single-year stint in 1983;[3] theAustralian Dictionary of Biography notes that he shaped the film event’s character with his “uncompromising drive for excellence”.[5]
Following Rado, the festival was headed up by Geoffrey Gardner (1980–1982), Paul Seto (1984), Paul Coulter (1985), Santina Musumeci (1986–1987), Tait Brady (1988–1996),Sandra Sdraulig (1997–2000), James Hewison (2001–2006), Richard Moore (2007–2010), Michelle Carey (2011–2018) and current artistic director Al Cossar (2019–present).[4][6]
MIFF’s annual program boasts around 300 titles spanning feature films, short films and XR (virtual reality,augmented reality andmixed reality), alongside a suite of galas, special events, activations and talks. In 2022, the festival screened 260 features, 111 shorts, 12 XR works, and 10 galas and special events, representing 82 countries of origin and 75 languages.[1]
MIFF’s short film competition, established in 1962,[4] is accredited by theAmerican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts and theAustralian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.[7] Its inaugural award was ‘Best Short Film’, but the title was changed to ‘Grand Prix for Best Short Film’ in 1965. Since 1985, the Grand Prix has been presented by the City of Melbourne.[8]
In 2022, this was complemented by a feature-length competition for first- and second-time directors, the Bright Horizons Award (presented byVicScreen), whose winner receives a A$140,000 prize; as well as the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award, which recognizes an outstanding Australian creative with a A$70,000 cash prize. As of 2023, the MIFF Awards slate has been expanded to also include the First Nations Film Creative Award, which recognizes an outstandingIndigenous Australian creative with a prize worth $45,000; the Audience Award, as decided by public voting; and the MIFF Schools Youth Jury Award, crowning the best title from the student-focused MIFF Schools program.[9]
Introduced in 2022, the Bright Horizons Award presents a prize ofA$140,000 in cash to a film judged as the best film in the Bright Horizons competition. It is the richest film prize in the southern hemisphere.[10]
The winners have been:
| Year | Film | Director | Country | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Neptune Frost | Saul Williams,Anisia Uzeyman | United States, Rwanda | [11] |
| 2023 | Banel & Adama | Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France, Mali, Senegal | [12] |
| 2024 | Universal Language | Matthew Rankin | Canada | [13] |
| 2025 | A Poet | Simón Mesa Soto | Colombia, Germany, Sweden | [14] |
In 2023Campari was the Shorts Awards Presenting Partner, and the Venue Partner ACMI. The Shorts Awards are all accredited byAcademy Awards, and the 2023 winners of the Best Short Film, Best Australian Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, and Best Animation Short Film awards were eligible to submit their films for the96th Academy Awards in 2024. The MIFF Shorts program is alsoBAFTA-Qualifying; any British film screened in the 2023 festival was eligible for entry in the British Short Film and British Short Animation categories of the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards. The 2023 awards were as follows:[15]
As of 2019[update] awards forshort films were:[16][17]
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | La gazza ladra | Giulio Giannini,Emanuele Luzzati | Italy |
| 1966 | The Inheritance | Harold Mayer | United States |
| 1967 | Petrol-Carburant-Kraftstoff | Hugo Niebeling | West Germany |
| 1968 | You're Human Like the Rest of Them | B. S. Johnson | UK |
| 1969 | Pas de deux | Norman McLaren | Canada |
| 1970 | Calcutta | Louis Malle | France |
| 1971 | Blake | Bill Mason | Canada |
| 1972 | Scarabus | Gérald Frydman | Belgium |
| 1973 | Street Musique | Ryan Larkin | Canada |
| 1974 | Edward Burra | Peter K. Smith | UK |
| 1975 | Last Grave at Dimbaza | Nana Mahamo | South Africa |
| 1976 | Leisure | Bruce Petty | Australia |
| 1977 | Corralejas de Sincelejo | Mario Mitrotti | Colombia |
| 1978 | Manimals | Robin Lehman | United States |
| 1979 | Malj | Aleksandar Ilic | Yugoslavia |
| 1980 | Interview | Caroline Leaf | Canada |
| 1981 | New York Story | Jackie Raynal | United States |
| 1982 | Shadows | Royden Irvine | Australia |
| 1983 | Douglas Mawson: The Survivor | David Parer | Australia |
| 1984 | Aquí se lo halla | Lee Sokol | United States |
| 1985 | In Heaven There Is No Beer? | Les Blank | United States |
| 1986 | My Life Without Steve | Gillian Leahy | Australia |
| 1987 | Panya shugeki | Naoto Yamakawa | Japan |
| 1988 | The Critical Years | Gerald L'Ecuyer | Canada/United States |
| 1989 | Twilight City | Reece Auguiste | UK |
| 1990 | Swimming | Belinda Chayko | Australia |
| 1991 | Sink or Swim | Su Friedrich | United States |
| 1992 | The Writing in the Sand | Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen | UK |
| 1993 | Lektionen in Finsternis | Werner Herzog | Germany |
| 1994 | Only the Brave | Ana Kokkinos | Australia |
| 1995 | Twilight | Tengai Amano | Japan |
| 1996 | Baka | Thierry Knauff | Belgium |
| 1997 | At Sea | Penny Fowler-Smith | Australia |
| 1998 | The Storekeeper | Gavin Hood | South Africa |
| 1999 | So-poong | Song Il-gon | South Korea |
| 2000 | Wildlife | Kate de Pury | UK |
| 2001 | Muakah | Hadar Friedlich | Israel |
| 2002 | Palace II | Kátia Lund,Fernando Meirelles | Brazil |
| 2003 | Destino | Dominique Monfery | France |
| 2004 | Talking with Angels | Yousaf Ali Khan | UK |
| 2005 | Silent Companion | Elham Hosseinzadeh | Iran |
| 2006 | Avatar | Lluis Quilez | Spain |
| 2007 | Blood Sisters | Louise N.D. Friedberg | Denmark |
| 2008 | Dennis | Mads Matthiesen | Denmark |
| 2009 | Next Floor | Denis Villeneuve, Phoebe Greenberg | Canada |
| 2010 | The Lost Thing | Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann | Australia |
| 2011 | A Fine Young Man | Kevan Funk | Canada |
| 2012 | It’s Not A Cowboy Movie | Benjamin Parent | France |
| 2013 | Pandas | Matúš Vizár | Czech Republic |
| 2014 | The Queen | Benjamin Parent | Argentina |
| 2015 | Everything Will Be OK | Patrick Vollrath | Germany |
| 2016 | Mrs Metro | Aggelos Papantoniou | Australia |
In 2000, MIFF's rejection of a feature film written and directed byRichard Wolstencroft led him to form theMelbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF). In subsequent years, MUFF has attracted controversy by criticising the content of MIFF, as well as its management, specifically the leadership of former directors. MUFF sees itself as a space for exciting and edgy Australian cinema that may not be played at MIFF.[18][19]
In June 2009,Ken Loach,Paul Laverty (writer) and Rebecca O'Brien (producer) pulled their filmLooking for Eric from the festival because the Israeli Embassy was a sponsor and the festival declined to withdraw their sponsorship. Moore compared Loach's tactics toblackmail, stating that "we will not participate in a boycott against the State of Israel, just as we would not contemplate boycotting films from China or other nations involved in difficult long-standing historical disputes".[20]
During the 58th festival in 2009, the filmThe 10 Conditions of Love (2009), which documents the life of the exiledUyghur leaderRebiya Kadeer, was screened despite many attempts by theGovernment of China to have the film withdrawn from the festival. Chinese filmmakers withdrew their films from the festival two days before it opened on 24 July 2009.[21] Former MIFF director Richard Moore refused to remove the film from the festival program,[22] despite the hacking of the festival website and attempts to hack its online ticketing system fromIP addresses of Chinese origin. Later, both pro-Chinese and pro-Uyghur activists attempted to disrupt ticketing due to the media coverage.[23][24][25] The Chinese Government contactedRobert Doyle, theLord Mayor of Melbourne asking him to intervene,[26] but he refused. Australia's Ambassador to ChinaGeoff Raby was summoned by China's Deputy Foreign MinisterZhang Zhijun to express displeasure about Kadeer's attendance at MIFF.[27]
Victoria Police was placed on alert during the screening of the film and Pro-Uighur demonstrators also gathered outside theMelbourne Town Hall,[26] and theDalai Lama sent a message of support viaMichael Danby, theMP forMelbourne Ports:[28]
{{cite news}}:|author= has generic name (help)