Arts & Culture
“Imagining hell is a privilege”
Navigate MIFF without losing your mind – or missing a masterpiece
The Melbourne International Film Festival program can be overwhelming, so here’s a few tips to help you find your way through Australia’s premier film fortnight
Published 25 July 2025
For some of us, August beats Christmas, the Grand Finals, even the Oscars – because the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is here.
The festival is Australia’s oldest, biggest and boldest celebration of cinema, and is deeply connected to both filmmakers and film lovers. From 7-24 August, the city explodes with film frenzy, and the program feels like cracking open a childhood toy catalogue: thrilling, overwhelming and full of promise.
You want everything but understand almost nothing – so how do you chart a path through the noise and turn it into joy?
I’ve got two things for you: five strategies to help you navigate the program, and five films that might just surprise, delight or stay with you long after the lights come up.
Five tips to survive MIFF
1. See the films you might never see again
MIFF is, first and foremost, a festival. Its magic lies in the one-off, the strange and the beautiful, the films that may never be back.
If it’s won at another festival or has a star actor or director – you will be able to find this film in the future. If it’s already headed to your local cineplex, you can catch it later.
So if you’re tossing up between something known and something you’ve never heard of – go the mystery option.
2. Join the crowd (yes, really)
This might sound counterintuitive, especially after what I just said – but sometimes, it’s worth diving into the hype.
A packed theatre full of anticipation can transform a good film into a great one. Collective laughter, gasps or that shared silence in a dramatic pause – it’s what cinema does best.
So, if something’s selling out, maybe lean in. Let the crowd carry you.
Find a film that won an award at another festival (like The Ice Tower won big at the Berlin Film Festival), has a big star (like Jodie Foster in Private Life), is from a big director (Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon) or is a world premiere or gala screening or captures the zeitgeist (like the special preview of Ari Aster's Eddington).
3. Go Australian
This is the biggest and oldest film festival in the country. Our country. And MIFF’s Australian section is the richest expression of storytelling, experimentation and heart.
Some of these films will go on to have a life in the awards season. Some may never be seen again outside of this moment. Either way, you’ll come away with a deeper sense of who we are – and where we’re going.
Politics & Society
The one-two punch threatening to knock out the Australian film industry
4. Go random
I swear by this one. There’s something strangely freeing about stepping into a film knowing absolutely nothing. Let the film tell you what it is, not your assumptions.
Open the schedule, find a time you’re free, and pick whatever’s showing. No Google. No reviews. No trailer. If there are two choices, then you are allowed to pick the film from the poster images.
At worst, you’ve discovered something you don’t like. At best, you’ll be floored. Trust me: the less you know, the better.
5. See filmmakers talk about their work
There is nothing quite like hearing the voice behind the vision.
When a filmmaker opens up on how and why they made their film – it transforms how you see the work. It reminds you that cinema isn’t just art. It’s craft. It’s labour. It’s risk. And MIFF gives you that insight, live.
Five films to watch
The Ice Tower is a hypnotic, gothic tale of obsession and identity. Picture: MIFF / The Ice Tower
Imagine is a rare homegrown animation that feels both timeless and totally now. Picture: MIFF / Imagine
Beast of War is a World War 2 survival thriller with teeth. Picture: MIFF / Beast of War
Lost Chapter is a tender, haunting work from a distinctive female voice. Picture: MIFF / Lost Chapter
Resurrection is a phantasmagorical journey through Chinese history, reincarnation and resistance. Picture: Getty Images / Resurrection1 / 5
1. Imagine
A bold, wildly imaginative animated fable co-created by First Nations artists, Imagine follows a screen-addicted teen pulled into a chaotic otherworld of Elders, aliens and ideas. It’s part Spirited Away, part social critique, and all energy.
A rare homegrown animation that feels both timeless and totally now.
2. Beast of War
Sometimes, the best MIFF experiences are full-blooded genre bangers.
From Wyrmwood director Kiah Roache-Turner comes a World War 2 survival thriller with teeth. After their ship is sunk by the Japanese, a group of Australian soldiers face a new enemy: a massive, blood-hungry shark.
Inspired by real events and shot with visceral intensity, Beast of War blends history, horror, and heart-pounding spectacle into something gloriously gnarly.
Arts & Culture
16mm films should be experienced, not just seen
3. Lost Chapters
Memory, exile, and poetry are woven together in this hybrid documentary that plays like a dream you can’t quite shake.
Beautifully constructed, Lost Chapters explores family, displacement and identity with quiet intensity. A tender, haunting work from a distinctive female voice in Latin American cinema.
One to see with a curious heart and an open mind.
4. The Ice Tower
Known for her eerie, dreamlike films (Innocence, Evolution), Lucile Hadžihalilović delivers a gripping work that was an award winner at Berlin.
The Ice Tower is a hypnotic, gothic tale of obsession and identity, starring Marion Cotillard as a snowbound screen queen and newcomer Clara Pacini as the girl who falls under her spell.
A slow-burn thriller that reveals its secrets through mood and precision: strange, sensual and utterly transfixing.
5. Resurrection
From acclaimed Chinese director Bi Gan (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Resurrection is a dream-soaked odyssey – a phantasmagorical journey through Chinese history, reincarnation and resistance.
Jackson Yee stars as a time-travelling ‘Fantasmer’ who lives many lives across the 20th century, in a world where dreaming can kill. Dazzling, elusive, and visually hypnotic, Resurrection is cinematic as riddle and meditation.
These are just five picks to get you started. The rest? That’s up to you – and that’s the fun of it.
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is on from 7-24 August. The University of Melbourne is a major partner.