Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival returns to Cinema Nova this July 2026 with ‘Documentaries Reimagined’ — a bold, eclectic program of must-see local and international documentaries. Proudly ranked among Film Freeway's Top 100 Festivals Worldwide for eleven consecutive years, MDFF delivers powerful, award-contending stories that challenge, inspire, and stay with you long after the credits roll. Warm up your winter with documentaries on the big screen.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 11, 4.20pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. THAT HALF BARBARIC TWANG is a spiritual road movie following two renowned Australian actors, David Field (The Rover) and Geoff Morrell (Top of the ... more
MDFF26 From Depression With Love
Opening Date: Tuesday, 7 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Tuesday July 7, 6.45pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. A deeply personal exploration of living with and overcoming depression, FROM DEPRESSION WITH LOVE shares intimate stories of struggle, healing, and r ... more
MDFF26 Planet Sun
Opening Date: Tuesday, 7 Jul 2026
Join Andy Evans, Australian renewable energy pioneer, on a sweeping journey through ten countries where humanity’s bond with the sun has shaped civilisation, science, and survival. PLANET SUN carries viewers from the pyramids of Teotihuacán and Chichén I ... more
MDFF26 Opening Night Shorts
Opening Date: Tuesday, 7 Jul 2026
SESSION INTRODUCTION: Tuesday July 7, 8.30pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for an introduction. Opening Night Shorts: DAD VS. BEES (20:29, David Quach) — A 79-year-old Asian man battles a bee infestation in his garden while navigating age, language ... more
MDFF26 Going Dry + Health Shorts
Opening Date: Wednesday, 8 Jul 2026
SESSION INTRODUCTION: Wednesday July 8, 5.50pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for an introduction. Leading alcohol-free advocate Andy Ramage guides moderate drinkers across the US, UK, and Canada through a 90-day break from alcohol in GOING DRY. The ... more
MDFF26 Two of Us + Sports Shorts
Opening Date: Wednesday, 8 Jul 2026
After suffering tragedy, Tim Edwards embarks on an epic national walk right across the UK with comedian John May in TWO OF US. Together they confront grief, unravel personal demons, forge unexpected connections, and inspire others to find hope amid profou ... more
MDFF26 Anxiety Club + Comedy Shorts
Opening Date: Thursday, 9 Jul 2026
SESSION INTRODUCTION: Thursday July 9, 6.30pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for an introduction. Stand-up comedians openly share their battles with anxiety, therapy sessions, and daily coping mechanisms. Through humour and honesty, ANXIETY CLUB reve ... more
MDFF26 Coexistence, My Ass
Opening Date: Thursday, 9 Jul 2026
Comedian and peace activist Noam Shuster Eliassi delivers a sharp, satirical one-woman show that confronts the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Shot between 2019 and 2024, COEXISTENCE, MY ASS follows Eliassi’s stand-up routine while traci ... more
MDFF26 Don't Forget Me
Opening Date: Friday, 10 Jul 2026
The first official biography of rock ’n’ roll pioneer Eddie Cochran. Featuring never-before-seen archival material, dramatic recreations, and powerful testimonies from legends including Keith Richards, Sting, Rod Stewart, and Alice Cooper, DON'T FORGET ME ... more
MDFF26 40 Years of F*cking Up
Opening Date: Friday, 10 Jul 2026
40 YEARS OF F*CKING UP is the unbelievable story of how a group of untalented teenage punks became the most successful independent band in history; NOFX. Told with raw energy and humour, the film reveals their haphazard journey filled with chaos, determin ... more
MDFF26 Building The Beatles
Opening Date: Friday, 10 Jul 2026
Featuring never before seen footage of the most seminal rock band in music history, BUILDING THE BEATLES is an unprecedented look at the players who have been left out of the story of The Fab Four’s meteoric rise… until now. Journey back to meet Mona Best ... more
MDFF26 Eyes Like Diamonds
Opening Date: Saturday, 11 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 11, 7.15pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Passionate conservationist Neil Waters embarks on a decade-long search through Tasmania’s wilderness to prove the Tasmanian Tiger still exists. Onc ... more
MDFF26 Brother vs. Brother + Experimental Shorts
Opening Date: Saturday, 11 Jul 2026
SESSION INTRODUCTION: Saturday July 11, 6.20pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for an introduction. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and Inspired by live cinema, BROTHER VERSUS BROTHER is a one-take musical that follows combative twin musicians as the ... more
MDFF26 Acropolis Cats and Other Wondrous Creatures
Opening Date: Saturday, 11 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 11, 5.00pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Exploring the lives of stray cats in Athens and beyond, ACROPOLIS CATS AND OTHER WONDROUS CREATURES examines the tenderness and tragedies in human- ... more
MDFF26 Shorts Sessions 2
Opening Date: Saturday, 11 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 11, 1.00pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. SCRAP (17.01 Noémie Lobry) The corridors of a consciousness invaded by broken cars, where images of the past, present and possible futures ... more
MDFF26 Maypilama + First Nations Shorts
Opening Date: Saturday, 11 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 11, 1.15pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. In a remote Yolŋu island community, Elder Ḻäwurrpa Maypilama works to return birthing to Country. Navigating ancestral laws, colonial resistance, a ... more
MDFF26 Shorts Sessions 1
Opening Date: Saturday, 11 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 11, 10.15am. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. STRANGER IN THE WORLD (Sturla Pilskog 29.50mins) Follows a filmmaker, his autistic son, and a composer's earth-inspired work. A MAGIC THREAD (15: ... more
MDFF26 Shorts Sessions 3
Opening Date: Sunday, 12 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 12, 10.15am. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. KALEIDOSCOPE (40m): Micro shorts from around the world. CROC COUNTRY (Sinead Reynold 20:05) In tropical North Queensland, locals must share ... more
MDFF26 Shorts Sessions 4
Opening Date: Sunday, 12 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 12, 1.10pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. KALEIDOSCOPE (45m) short docs. GOING COASTAL (16:15, Henry Smith) — Couple's simple life climbing, gardening, and birding on remote Flinders Island. ... more
MDFF26 Jimmy Somerville: Smalltown Boy + Shorts
Opening Date: Sunday, 12 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 12, 3.45pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. The story of frontman Jimmy Somerville, the rebellious singer who became the English voice of gay and minority rights. From Bronski Beat to The Commu ... more
MDFF26 Out Laws + Queer Shorts
Opening Date: Sunday, 12 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 12, 5.15pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Friedel Dausab challenges Namibia’s criminalisation of same-sex love in a landmark court case. The film traces colonial and religious roots of anti-q ... more
MDFF26 The Marbles
Opening Date: Sunday, 12 Jul 2026
THE MARBLES is the story of the greatest art heist in history and the fight to change a great wrong. In 1801, Lord Elgin removed half of the Parthenon, causing a scandal among his contemporaries. What followed was a 200-year battle between Greece and the ... more
MDFF26 Wide Horizons
Opening Date: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Tuesday July 14, 6.20pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. An intimate portrait of critically acclaimed regional dance company Dancenorth based in tropical North Queensland. The film follows the company on a ... more
MDFF26 Shared Table Regional Heros
Opening Date: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Tuesday July 14, 6.45pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Four unsung migrant heroes in regional Victoria open their kitchens to a travelling film crew. What begins as a quest for connection becomes a deepl ... more
MDFF26 Bound By Distance
Opening Date: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Tuesday July 14, 8.30pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Six Australian runners and their support crew tackle the world’s longest, hardest unsanctioned race — the 550km Speed Project from LA to Las Vegas. ... more
MDFF26 Everything We Need Is Here
Opening Date: Wednesday, 15 Jul 2026
Drawn by a primal instinct to forage, Tiffany wanders Manitoba’s boreal forests in search of wild mushrooms — and something far deeper. Living with complex PTSD, she finds in Nature a refuge that offers calm, clarity, and connection. In Winnipeg’s threate ... more
MDFF26 Whistleblower + David McBride: Declassified
Opening Date: Thursday, 16 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Thursday July 16, 6.15pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. WHISTLEBLOWER (Marc Bauder, 91 min): Follows Africa’s most important whistleblower Jean-Jacques Lumumba, former NSA intelligence analyst Daniel Hal ... more
MDFF26 How To Kill A Mermaid
Opening Date: Thursday, 16 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Thursday July 16, 8.50pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. A heart-wrenching true-crime documentary re-examining the 2020 death of 18-year-old Linnea Mills during a cold-water scuba dive in Montana’s Glacie ... more
MDFF26 Spirit Of The Photobooth
Opening Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Friday July 17, 6.15pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. A warm celebration of photobooth culture and its enduring role in capturing spontaneous moments, self-expression, and memory across generations. ... more
MDFF26 Dead Parents Club
Opening Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Friday July 17, 8.40pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. A hybrid documentary exploring parental loss through real stories interwoven with the orphan trope in popular culture. Participants perform iconic sc ... more
MDFF26 No Limbs No Limits
Opening Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Friday July 17, 8.30pm. Join the filmmaker live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Born without arms or legs in Melbourne, Nick Vujicic and his family fought Australia’s education system to change disability integration nationwide. T ... more
MDFF26 Wim Wenders Retrospective
Opening Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
A retrospective of documentary shorts from acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders (Perfect Days, Paris, Texas). ROOM 666 (1982, 50m) Shot during the ... more
MDFF26 Docs After Dark
Opening Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
SESSION INTRODUCTION: Saturday July 18, 8.30pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for an introduction. THE MAN WHO SAW THEM ARRIVE (Zev Howley, 71 min): In January 1968, the quiet life of Melbourne resident Colin Cameron was shattered following a myster ... more
MDFF26 Silver Screamers
Opening Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 18, 6.15pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. A heartwarming and spine-tingling documentary following spirited senior citizens who step far outside their comfort zones to create their own horro ... more
MDFF26 Love Letter to the Unseen + Sensing Home
Opening Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 18, 5.30pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. LOVE LETTER TO THE UNSEEN (45 min, Josh Murphy) follows youth conservationist Spencer Hitchen on his journey of discovery to understand the imminen ... more
MDFF26 Somewhere After
Opening Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 18, 3.30pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Seven Australians share their isolation hopes, dreams, and fears via video calls early in the pandemic. Three years later they revisit those re ... more
MDFF26 Making Infinity
Opening Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
An intimate observation of the creative process of Australian & Chinese artists navigating simmering tensions & their cultural differences; in an attempt to create a contemporary performance ritual that involves the entire audience moving in unison to mak ... more
MDFF26 Tycho! + Pushing the Boundaries
Opening Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Saturday July 18, 10.15am. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. TYCHO! Beyond the Baton (Stephan Wellink, 95 min): The little-known personal story of child prodigy Maestro Tommy Tycho — Holocaust survivor, pian ... more
MDFF26 Nova 78
Opening Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2026
A time capsule from the underground: restored footage from the legendary 1978 Nova Convention featuring William Burroughs, Frank Zappa, Patti Smith, and other counterculture icons, reimagined for today’s audiences. ... more
MDFF26 Resisting Caste(ism) In Australia
Opening Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 19, 12.15pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Filmmaker Dr Vikrant Kishore travels 3,500 kilometres across Australian cities, speaking with Dalit community members and allies about persistent ca ... more
MDFF26 Language Of Light (Session 1)
Opening Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 19, 4.10pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Three different Australian photographers, each with a different photographic style, discuss their lives and their work. Tony Mott – Rock ‘n roll pho ... more
MDFF26 Language Of Light (Session 2)
Opening Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2026
MEET THE FILMMAKER: Sunday July 19, 6.20pm. Join the filmmakers live in-cinema for a post-screening Q&A. Three different Australian photographers, each with a different photographic style, discuss their lives and their work. Ruth Maddison - Feminist Pho ... more
MDFF26 Australian Dream
Opening Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2026
Six underdog surfers from a tiny village in Portugal travel to Australia and take on the world elite in one of the country’s most iconic surfing championships, embodying determination and unexpected triumph. ... more
