All films coming soon

Abyss, The

Opening Date: Tuesday, 24 Jun 2025

MOVIE EPIC! James Cameron’s classic 1989 sci-fi epics returns to the big screen fully restored.


The crew of an experimental, high-tech ... more

Midsommar: Director's Cut

Opening Date: Tuesday, 24 Jun 2025

JOIN US FOR A WINTER SOLSTICE SCREENING!

Written and directed by visionary filmmaker Ari Aster (Hereditary, Beau Is Afraid) comes a ... more

My Beautiful Laundrette

Opening Date: Thursday, 26 Jun 2025

40th ANNIVERSARY! Years ahead of its time, Stephen Frears (The Crying Game) directs Daniel Day Lewis and Gordon Warnecke in ... more

Wisdom of Happiness

Opening Date: Friday, 27 Jun 2025

LIMITED SCREENINGS - A deeply intimate and highly cinematic documentary featuring the Dalai Lama, who, at nearly 90 years old, ... more

Story of Frank and Nina, The

Opening Date: Sunday, 29 Jun 2025

ESPRESSO CINEMA PRESENTS – THE STORY OF FRANK AND NINA (Opening Night – complimentary drink of Campari or Crodino on arrival) Winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Magic Lantern Award, The Story of Frank and Nina is a vibrant and dynamic fable of three ... more

Grand Budapest Hotel + The Royal Tenenbaums

Opening Date: Tuesday, 1 Jul 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Step into the wonderful world of Wes with two of the Nova favourite’s biggest hits. ... more

Shrouds, The

Opening Date: Thursday, 3 Jul 2025

From body horror maestro David Cronenberg comes his most personal film yet; THE SHROUDS, a new vision of the future starring Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, and Guy Pearce. ... more

Strange Days

Opening Date: Thursday, 3 Jul 2025

30TH ANNIVERSARY! Lenny (Ralph Fiennes), a former cop, faces dangerous challenges when he finds out that Jeriko, a political activist, ... more

Casablanca + Maltese Falcon, The

Opening Date: Tuesday, 8 Jul 2025

DOUBLE BILL! Humphrey Bogart stars in two of the greatest films of the 20th century, CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON.

A ... more

Desperately Seeking Susan

Opening Date: Thursday, 10 Jul 2025

40TH ANNIVERSARY! Starring Madonna in her first major on-screen role, cult classic DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN is a time-capsule of New York in the 80s. ... more

Grande Maison Paris

Opening Date: Thursday, 10 Jul 2025

GRANDE MAISON PARIS is an entertaining and mouthwatering culinary drama from director Ayuko Tsukahara, with the on-set cuisine supervised by Kei Kobayashi, the first Japanese chef to earn three Michelin stars in Paris ... more

Nice Indian Boy, A

Opening Date: Thursday, 10 Jul 2025

PRIDE MONTH ADVANCE SCREENING: Saturday June 28, 7.10pm. When Naveen (Karan Soni) brings his fiancé Jay (Jonathan Groff) home to meet his traditional Indian family, they must contend with accepting his white-orphan-artist boyfriend and helping them pla ... more

Stelarc – Suspending Disbelief

Opening Date: Sunday, 13 Jul 2025

MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 13, 3.30pm. Melbourne based STELARC burst into prominence in the early 1970s with a series of confronting, and outrageous public art performances. Following his mantra that ‘the body is obsolete’ the Cypriot born Austral ... more

Amélie

Opening Date: Monday, 14 Jul 2025

SAVE THE DATE! Bastille Day Screening: Monday 14 July, 6.50pm. Vive la France! This Bastille Day, we’re playing the classic French whimsical romantic comedy! Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) lives in Paris, and in a world of her own. Introverted, but with ... more

Breathless + Contempt

Opening Date: Tuesday, 15 Jul 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Celebrate Bastille Day with two French New Wave essentials from revered auteur Jean-Luc Godard. ... more

On Swift Horses

Opening Date: Thursday, 17 Jul 2025

Daniel Minahan's new queer period romance ON SWIFT HORSES stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (Fresh), Jacob Elordi (Priscilla), Will Poulter (Warfare), Diego Calva (Babylon), and Sasha Calle. In the 1950s, young couple Muriel (Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Poulter) make th ... more

Total Recall

Opening Date: Thursday, 17 Jul 2025

35TH ANNIVERSARY! Paul Verhoeven's 1990 science fiction classic TOTAL RECALL stars a dynamite paring of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone. ... more

Trifole

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

ESPRESSO CINEMA PRESENTS - TRIFOLE (TRUFFLES)


In this bittersweet portrait of a vanishing rural way of life, Londoner Dalia returns to ... more

Lady Bird + Dazed & Confused

Opening Date: Tuesday, 22 Jul 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Back-to-school screening! Beat the back-to-school blues with a night of indie high school hits.

Greta Gerwig’s LADYBIRD is the ... more

Roger Waters This Is Not A Drill: Live From Prague

Opening Date: Wednesday, 23 Jul 2025

Roger Waters, founding member and creative force behind the legendary Pink Floyd, brings to the screen his live show, Roger ... more

Four Letters of Love

Opening Date: Thursday, 24 Jul 2025

FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE is a moving and heartbreaking romance starring an extraordinary ensemble cast including Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne, and Pierce Brosnan ... more

Sense and Sensibility

Opening Date: Thursday, 24 Jul 2025

30TH ANNIVERSARY! The exceedingly handsome SENSE AND SENSIBILITY was scripted by Emma Thompson and was Ang Lee's first English feature. The impeccable cast includes Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant. ... more

2001: A Space Odyssey

Opening Date: Tuesday, 29 Jul 2025

MOVIE EPIC! Arguably one of the greatest films ever made, over 50 years ago director Stanley Kubrick released his ground-breaking sci-fi epic, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. The seminal classic has since been fully restored so a new generation of Novagoers can di ... more

Friend, The

Opening Date: Thursday, 31 Jul 2025

THE FRIEND is a moving ode to friendship, grief, and healing, starring Academy Award nominees Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, and in his debut role, Bing, a 150-pound Great Dane. ... more

Ran

Opening Date: Thursday, 31 Jul 2025

40TH ANNIVERSARY! Japanese master Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Rashomon) reimagines Shakespeare’s King Lear as a sixteenth-century Japan historical epic. ... more

Stolen Painting, The

Opening Date: Thursday, 31 Jul 2025

Inspired by remarkable true events, acclaimed writer/director Pascal Bonitzer’s engrossing dramedy, THE STOLEN PAINTING, follows an auctioneer whose professional and personal integrity is challenged by the discovery of a long-lost masterpiece. ... more

Together

Opening Date: Thursday, 31 Jul 2025

MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 13, 6.00pm. Join writer and director Michael Shanks for a post-film Q&A. The feature debut of Australian writer/director Michael Shanks, TOGETHER is a squishy, fleshy body horror starring real life couple Alison Br ... more

CatVideoFest 2025

Opening Date: Saturday, 2 Aug 2025

The world's #1 cat video festival is back with screenings in cinemas across the Australia, New Zealand and around the ... more

8 1/2 + La Strada

Opening Date: Tuesday, 5 Aug 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Join us for a festival of Fellini as two essentials from the Italian master return to the silver screen. ... more

American Psycho

Opening Date: Thursday, 7 Aug 2025

25TH ANNIVERSARY! Mary Harron’s bloody satire of ’80s New York yuppie culture stars Christian Bale as iconic serial killer Patrick Bateman. A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from h ... more

My Neighbour Totoro + Spirited Away

Opening Date: Tuesday, 12 Aug 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Two iconic Studio Ghibli films back-to-back. ... more

Irena's Vow

Opening Date: Thursday, 14 Aug 2025

Based on the Broadway play that was inspired by an incredible true story, IRENA'S VOW follows Polish nurse Irena Gut Opdyke, portrayed by Sophie Nélisse (Yellowjackets), who hid Polish Jews during World War II. Employed as a house keeper by Nazi Ger ... more

Life of Chuck, The

Opening Date: Thursday, 14 Aug 2025

ADVANCE SCREENING: Thursday July 31, 7.00pm. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Film at the Toronto Film Festival! A life-affirming, genre-bending story based on Stephen King's novella, THE LIFE OF CHUCK details the life of Chuck Kranz, an ordinary ... more

Before Sunrise + Before Sunset

Opening Date: Tuesday, 19 Aug 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Richard Linklater's first two installments of the 'Before Trilogy' return to the screen for a romantic double feature.

Jesse ... more

Chopper

Opening Date: Thursday, 21 Aug 2025

“This film, without meaning to, is almost 95% true. Andrew stumbled into the truth,” says the real Chopper Read about ... more

A.I Artificial Intelligence

Opening Date: Tuesday, 26 Aug 2025

MOVIE EPIC! Steven Spielberg fulfills Stanley Kubrick’s vision of technological change that is as prevalent today as it was upon release. ... more

The Sleeper - The Lost Caravaggio

Opening Date: Sunday, 31 Aug 2025

ESPRESSO CINEMA PRESENTS – THE SLEEPER: THE LOST CARAVAGGIO


When an 80-year-old-woman from Madrid takes an old painting from her living ... more

Witch, The + Lighthouse, The

Opening Date: Tuesday, 2 Sep 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! "Say, why is it bad luck to kill a gull?" Idiosyncratic director Robert Eggers declared his unique approach to filmmaking with his dread-soaked feature debut THE WITCH (a breakout Cinema Nova exclusive) in 2015 before hoisting his relentle ... more

Sorry, Baby

Opening Date: Thursday, 4 Sep 2025

From the Oscar Winning producers Adele Romanski (Aftersun) and Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), comes SORRY, BABY, the directorial debut of writer and star Eva Victor. ... more

Your Name + Weathering With You

Opening Date: Tuesday, 9 Sep 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Makoto Shinkai (Suzume) directs a pair of gorgeous animated romantic fantasies. ... more

Lesbian Space Princess

Opening Date: Thursday, 11 Sep 2025

An introverted space princess is forced to leave her home planet on an inter-gay-lactic mission to save her ex-girlfriend from ... more

Basic Instinct + Mulholland Drive

Opening Date: Tuesday, 16 Sep 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Everything is not as it seems in a pair of auteur-driven erotic-thrillers that take cues from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. ... more

Ferris Bueller's Day Off + Election

Opening Date: Tuesday, 23 Sep 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! A Matthew Broderick double feature featuring the star in two of his most iconic roles. ... more

Inter Alia: NT Live

Opening Date: Thursday, 25 Sep 2025

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Saltburn) makes her National Theatre debut in INTER ALIA: NT LIVE, a searing new play from the team behind Prima Facie. ... more

Leopard, The

Opening Date: Tuesday, 30 Sep 2025

MOVIE EPIC! Burt Lancaster leads Luchino Visconti’s 19th century Italian epic. ... more

Twilight + New Moon

Opening Date: Tuesday, 30 Sep 2025

20TH ANNIVERSARY GALA SCREENING: Tuesday September 30, 6.50pm. To celebrate twenty years of sparkling vampires and spider monkeys, we’ve partnered with Readings to present a double feature of (the best films in the franchise) TWILIGHT and NEW MOON. We’ll ... more

Howl's Moving Castle + Laputa Castle in the Sky

Opening Date: Tuesday, 7 Oct 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki present fantastical animated tales of far-away lands. ... more

Red Sonja

Opening Date: Thursday, 9 Oct 2025

40TH ANNIVERSARY! The fearless warrior Red Sonja sets out to avenge her family's murder and rid her kingdom from the ... more

Donnie Darko + Nightcrawler

Opening Date: Tuesday, 14 Oct 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Jake Gyllenhaal delivers two of his finest performances across a pair of chilling psychological thrillers. ... more

Clue

Opening Date: Thursday, 16 Oct 2025

40TH ANNIVERSARY! Jonathan Lynn's (My Cousin Vinny) classic mosaic whodunnit is based on the titular board game, led by the iconoclastic Tim Curry. ... more

Jennifer's Body + Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Opening Date: Tuesday, 21 Oct 2025

DOUBLE BILL: Demonic Double! Join us to watch cult classics JENNIFER’S BODY and the 1992 film BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER ... more

Stalker

Opening Date: Tuesday, 28 Oct 2025

MOVIE EPIC! Andrei Tarkovsky directs a landmark sci-fi adventure. ... more

Favourite, The + Poor Things

Opening Date: Tuesday, 4 Nov 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Yorgos Lanthimos directs Emma Stone in a pair of Oscar winners. ... more

Kiki's Delivery Service + The Boy and the Heron

Opening Date: Tuesday, 11 Nov 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki present two animated Japanese hits. ... more

Man Who Fell to Earth, The + The Wicker Man (1973)

Opening Date: Tuesday, 18 Nov 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Back-to-back cult ‘70s horror hits! ... more

Wicked: For Good

Opening Date: Thursday, 20 Nov 2025

WICKED: FOR GOOD is part 2 of John M. Chu's adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon, starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang. ... more

Dersu Uzala

Opening Date: Tuesday, 25 Nov 2025

MOVIE EPIC! Akira Kurosawa directs a powerful drama, winner of Best Foreign Language Film at the 1976 Academy Awards. ... more

Portrait of a Lady on Fire + Petite Maman

Opening Date: Tuesday, 2 Dec 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Céline Sciamma directs a pair of tender French dramas. ... more

Dressed To Kill + Body Double

Opening Date: Tuesday, 9 Dec 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Brian De Palma (Scarface) directs a pair of arrestingly stylish ‘80s erotic thrillers as only he can. ... more

Nope + Get Out

Opening Date: Tuesday, 16 Dec 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Jordan Peele teams with Daniel Kaluuya for a pair of modern horror classics. ... more

Citizen Kane + The Magnificent Ambersons

Opening Date: Tuesday, 23 Dec 2025

DOUBLE FEATURE! Orson Welles directs and stars in a pair of cinema classics! ... more

Right Stuff, The

Opening Date: Tuesday, 30 Dec 2025

MOVIE EPIC! Philip Kaufman (writer – Raiders of the Lost Ark) directs a four-time Oscar-winning historical adventure. ... more

Met Opera: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Opening Date: Saturday, 5 Jul 2025

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024–25 Live in HD season comes to a close with Rossini’s effervescent comedy. Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina ... more

Polyester

Opening Date: Friday, 4 Jul 2025

Scratch & Sniff your way through John Waters' iconic POLYSTER with your very own 'Bespoke Scented Souvenir Card' ... more

Female Trouble

Opening Date: Saturday, 5 Jul 2025

Scratch & Sniff your way through John Waters' subversive FEMALE TROUBLE with your very own 'Bespoke Scented Souvenir Card' ... more

Hairspray

Opening Date: Saturday, 5 Jul 2025

Scratch & Sniff your way through John Waters' musical HAIRSPRAY with your very own 'Bespoke Scented Souvenir Card' ... more

Michelangelo: Love and Death

Opening Date: Thursday, 10 Jul 2025

The spectacular sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo seem so familiar to us, but what do we really know about this ... more

MDFF Opening Night Shorts

Opening Date: Tuesday, 15 Jul 2025

A collection of shorts to kick off the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival on opening night. ... more

MDFF Whoopee Blues

Opening Date: Tuesday, 15 Jul 2025

MDFF OPENING NIGHT FILM: Tuesday July 15, 6.30pm. Join filmmaker Fiona Cochrane and artist Mic Conway for a post-film Q&A! A charming portrait of brother-duo Mic and Jim Conway’s passionate journey from humble Jellybean Jug Band to now famed Captain Matc ... more

MDFF Calm The F**k Down + Scars Unseen

Opening Date: Wednesday, 16 Jul 2025

Calm The F**k Down (Dir: Helen Gaynor – 40m)

In Australia, one woman is murdered by her current/former male partner every ... more

MDFF The Social Trap: 5 Women vs The Big 5

Opening Date: Wednesday, 16 Jul 2025

The Social Trap: 5 Women vs The Big 5 (Dir: Elisa Jadot – 80m) Following five women battling tech giants like Meta, The Social Trap exposes the public health crisis of screen addiction and their fight to protect children from digital harm. ... more

MDFF Her Shark Story

Opening Date: Thursday, 17 Jul 2025

Her Shark Story (Dir: Ignacio Walker – 76m) A young marine biologist in Galapagos reconnects with her father through their shared ... more

MDFF Hot Water + Lifeblood

Opening Date: Thursday, 17 Jul 2025

Hot Water: Investigating Australia's Marine Ecosystem (Dir: Ash Dunn – 51m)

A vibrant journey across Australia’s marine wonders, Hot Water highlights ... more

MDFF Disappear Here

Opening Date: Friday, 18 Jul 2025

Disappear Here (Dir: Ben deHoedt – 91m)

The vexed question of how to live an artistic life is illustrated in DISAPPEAR ... more

Goddess of Slide: The Forgotten Story of Ellen McIlwaine (Dir: Alfonso Maiorana – 90m)

The forgotten story of Ellen McIlwaine, the ... more

MDFF Peter Doherty: Stranger In My Own Skin

Opening Date: Friday, 18 Jul 2025

Peter Doherty: Stranger In My Own Skin (Dir: Katia de Vidas – 65m)

An emotionally charged portrait of Libertines’ frontman Peter ... more

MDFF A Journey Between the Fires

Opening Date: Saturday, 19 Jul 2025

A Journey Between the Fires is a deeply personal and compelling story following Award winning singer songwriter Troy Cassar-Daley as ... more

MDFF Fire at Sea: The HMAS Westralia Disaster

Opening Date: Saturday, 19 Jul 2025

Fire at Sea: The HMAS Westralia Disaster (Dir: David Jenkins - 82m) A gripping investigation into the 1998 HMAS Westralia ... more

MDFF Palestinians Don’t Need Sidewalks + The Docto

Opening Date: Saturday, 19 Jul 2025

Palestinians Don’t Need Sidewalks (Dir: Jill Pauline Hickson – 71m)

A raw journey through occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, this ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 1

Opening Date: Saturday, 19 Jul 2025

The Dolphin Dilemma (Dir: Olivia Andrus-Drennan – 18m)

This film explores an international collaboration that, for the first time, proves that ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 2

Opening Date: Saturday, 19 Jul 2025

Memory Collector (20m)

A specific description and director for a short film titled 'Memory Collector' with a runtime of 20 minutes ... more

MDFF Stupa

Opening Date: Saturday, 19 Jul 2025

Stupa (Dir: Peter Downey – 52m)

The inside story of outsider art with Boinga Bob, an autistic artistic treasure from Australia ... more

MDFF By Far Kaymakchalan

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

By Far Kaymakchalan (Dir: Boris Trbić and Dragan Gavrilović – 60m)

Uncovering Australia’s forgotten WWI role alongside Serbian forces, By Far ... more

MDFF Reflections of Courage

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

Reflections of Courage (Dir: Janet Shay – 48m)

Reflections of Courage is a poignant 50-minute documentary chronicling the extraordinary journey of ... more

MDFF Seen

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

Seen (Dir: Hailey Bartholomew – 75m)

A heartfelt exploration of self-discovery, Seen emphasizes the importance of understanding ourselves to support our ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 3

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

Chasing Roo (Dir: Skye Fitzgerald – 34m)

An investigation into the harvesting of kangaroos in Australia, this film offers an intimate ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 4

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

How to Sue the Klan (Dir: John Beder – 34m)

In 1982, five Black women from Chattanooga successfully sued the Ku ... more

MDFF Space Cowboy

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

Space Cowboy (Dir: Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt – 95m)

An emotional odyssey of skydiving cinematographer Joe Jennings, Space Cowboy traces ... more

MDFF The Longer You Bleed

Opening Date: Sunday, 20 Jul 2025

This personal documentary follows displaced Ukrainians in Berlin contending with the traumatic absurdity of watching their homeland burn, in real-time, ... more

MDFF Deep Ecology + Farmacy of Light

Opening Date: Tuesday, 22 Jul 2025

Deep Ecology (54m)

Deep Ecology delves into the profound interconnectedness of our personal and collective grief with the ecological and systemic ... more

MDFF Human Race

Opening Date: Tuesday, 22 Jul 2025

Human Race (Dir: Simon David de-Tusch Alec – 100m) Following professor Eske Willerslev’s quest to map 5,000 ancient human DNA profiles, ... more

MDFF Johatsu

Opening Date: Tuesday, 22 Jul 2025

A haunting documentary about Japan’s “evaporated people” who vanish to escape societal pressures, exploring their stories and the cultural factors ... more

MDFF The Definition of Happiness

Opening Date: Tuesday, 22 Jul 2025

As the elusive pursuit of happiness continues to plunge humanity deeper into depression, Tim is forced onto a transformative journey, ... more

MDFF Clear Sky

Opening Date: Wednesday, 23 Jul 2025

Clear Sky (Dir: Michael Del Monte – 76m)
An unflinching portrait of Shawn’s battle with addiction and cultural disconnection, Clear ... more

MDFF Our Warrior: The Story of Robbie Thorpe

Opening Date: Wednesday, 23 Jul 2025

Our Warrior: The Story of Robbie Thorpe (Dir: Anthony Kelly – 53m)

A powerful portrait of Aboriginal activist Robbie Thorpe, Our ... more

MDFF A River in the Middle of the Sky

Opening Date: Thursday, 24 Jul 2025

A River in the Middle of the Sky (80m)

A River in the Middle of the Sky' is a portrait of ... more

MDFF NYAA WA

Opening Date: Thursday, 24 Jul 2025

NYAA WA (Dir: Charlie Braces – 60m) NYAA WA 'Take Care' is a Music Documentary featuring Naarm-based artist Charlie Needs ... more

MDFF Bonegilla - The Migrants Journey

Opening Date: Friday, 25 Jul 2025

Bonegilla - The Migrant's Journey (Dir: Simon Reich – 86m) After the Second World War, the Australian government decided to accept ... more

MDFF Before 1770: The Journey Home

Opening Date: Saturday, 26 Jul 2025

Before 1770: The Journey Home (Dir: Wahyu Al Mardhani and Chris C.F. – 96m)

Challenging colonial narratives, ‘Before 1770’ uncovers the ... more

MDFF Dancing Against the Odds

Opening Date: Saturday, 26 Jul 2025

Dancing Against the Odds (Dir: Matt Byrne – 64m)

In a stunning documentary accompanying the dance film Counterpoise, Dancing Against the ... more

MDFF Ferrari: Fury and the Monster

Opening Date: Saturday, 26 Jul 2025

Ferrari: Fury and the Monster (Dir: Steve Hoover – 80m)

Ferrari: Fury And the Monster tells the story of Mauro Forghieri ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 5

Opening Date: Saturday, 26 Jul 2025

Frozen Water (Dir: Anastasia Fetisov - 25m) Frozen Waters chronicles the awe-inspiring journey of endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh as he becomes the first person to swim beneath Antarctica's ice sheet. In this historic feat, Pugh swims 1 kilometre through su ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 6

Opening Date: Saturday, 26 Jul 2025

The Broken Goddess (Dir: Ximena Pereira – 21m)

The myth of María Lionza, a Venezuelan jungle deity, intertwines with a migrant ... more

MDFF The Big Sea

Opening Date: Saturday, 26 Jul 2025

Exposing surfing’s toxic link to Neoprene and Cancer Alley, The Big Sea uncovers environmental racism and corporate greenwashing, urging the ... more

MDFF Noyce - The Not So Quiet Australian

Opening Date: Sunday, 27 Jul 2025

Noyce - The Not So Quiet Australian (Dir: Ted McDonnell – 103m)

A sentimental homage to filmmaker Phillip Noyce, this documentary ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 7

Opening Date: Sunday, 27 Jul 2025

Wouldn't Make It Any Other Way (Dir: Stephanie Lane – 21m)

A family prepares for their mother's 60th birthday party while ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 8

Opening Date: Sunday, 27 Jul 2025

WASKA: The Forest Is My Family (Dir: Nina Gualinga – 15m)

Set in a world post-environmental collapse, the film follows a ... more

MDFF Shorts Session 9

Opening Date: Sunday, 27 Jul 2025

The Falcons (14m)

The Falcons is an intimate, observational documentary that explores the Tshakhruk Ethnoband in the highlands of Armenia, a ... more

MDFF The New Peasants

Opening Date: Sunday, 27 Jul 2025

The New Peasants (Dir: Jordon Osmond – 66m)

An intimate portrait of a family’s 20-year transition to a sustainable, simple life, ... more

MDFF The Nicholas Building

Opening Date: Sunday, 27 Jul 2025

The Nicholas Building (Dir: Mark Newbold – 90m)

The Nicholas Building in Melbourne's CDB has housed a community of artists and ... more

MDFF Piquancy Silent Heroes + Unlocking the Potent

Opening Date: Tuesday, 29 Jul 2025

Piquancy Silent Heroes (Dir: Nandita Chakraborty - 54m)

Celebrating 16 unsung heroes from Melbourne’s diverse communities, Piquancy Silent Heroes highlights their ... more

MDFF Union

Opening Date: Tuesday, 29 Jul 2025

A documentary directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing that chronicles the grassroots efforts of Amazon workers at the JFK8 ... more

MDFF After the Rain: Putin’s Stolen Children Come

Opening Date: Wednesday, 30 Jul 2025

After the Rain: Putin’s Stolen Children Come Home (Dir: Sarah McCarthy – 80m)

Deep in a forest by the Baltic Sea, ... more

MDFF Left Behind

Opening Date: Wednesday, 30 Jul 2025

Left Behind (Dir: Anna Toomey – 76m)

Left Behind is the inspiring story of a group of determined and passionate moms ... more

MDFF The Invisible Doctrine

Opening Date: Thursday, 31 Jul 2025

The Invisible Doctrine (Dir: Pete D Hutchison – 75m) George Monbiot deconstructs the roots, secretive propagation and deep impact of a ... more

MDFF The Strongman and the Last Days of the Khmer

Opening Date: Thursday, 31 Jul 2025

The Strongman and the Last Days of the Khmer Rouge (Dir: James Gerard – 110m)

A revealing portrait of Cambodia’s Hun ... more

MDFF Love in the Walls

Opening Date: Wednesday, 6 Aug 2025

Love in the Walls (Dir: Samuel Kostevc - 1hr)

In a Melbourne social housing community, this moving 60-minute documentary explores residents’ ... more

Caravaggio

Opening Date: Saturday, 15 Nov 2025

Mystery, intrigue, beauty, passion, murder - shine a new light on Caravaggio in this dramatic biography... Five years in production, this ... more

Turner and Constable

Opening Date: Saturday, 14 Mar 2026

Synopsis TBC... ... more

Frida Kahlo

Opening Date: Saturday, 25 Jul 2026

Who was Frida Kahlo? Everyone knows her, but who was the woman behind the bright colours, the big brows, and ... more

New & Noteworthy
Closed Caption eNews Anniversary Party Double Feature Sundays WHAT THE FEST Espresso Cinema Whiffy Waters MDFF met First Nations Acknowledgement