The (MIFF) has long-been Victoria’s primo hotspot to see new and old films from around the world. Though scaled back from last year, is packed with cinema of all kinds – with some especially intriguing retrospective selections.
The restorations include Portuguese director shadowy and dream-like 1989 debut , melancholy dance-club romance and 2000 mysterious revolutionary fable .
Contemporary films range from honest but hopeful meditations on domestic violence () or a documentary on an enclave for 1950s and 60s transgender women in the US’s Catskill Mountains (), to slow cinema maverick latest contemplation of the lingering marks of history ().
Here are five of my most anticipated screenings to help you make the most out of MIFF.
Lord Shango
This film opens with a shock. A young man with ties to the attempts to stop his girlfriend, Billie, from being baptised, but the church members accidentally (or maybe not?) drown him in the river.
A traumatised Billie runs away from home, so her mother (played by the amazing , star of ) turns to the mysterious and powerful Yoruba congregation for help.
Also starring (of 1973’s radical ), mixes elements of supernatural horror, melodrama and social commentary to grapple with the difficulties of African American assimilation.
The film is playing as part of the retrospective program, showcasing a diverse range of strange, wonderful and underappreciated movies that have been reclaimed by critics.
All of them are worth seeing, but Lord Shango stands out as a slippery, hard-to-define but deeply moving whatsit.
A rare and guaranteed fascinating theatrical screening.
The Sweet East
Directed by acclaimed cinematographer (, and many other beautifully grimy looking movies) and written by iconoclastic critic , is a vibes-based journey through an increasingly surreal American hellscape.
The film’s cast includes (), () and ().
This film is a must-see based on the talent alone.
Nick Pinkerton is also speaking at , a free panel discussion at on Saturday 5 August at 11.00am.
Director in Focus: Safi Faye
The recently departed was a female Senegalese director and actor focused on rural African communities, with a keen eye on the specific struggles of women.
Faye first entered the cinematic landscape as an actress in French director Jean Rouch’s 1970 colonial critique , where she learned about the style she would later incorporate into her own work.
In 1972, she directed her first short . Her work crosses between fiction and documentary, usually with an ethnographic lens on her chosen subject.
This pick is a bit of a cheat because it comprises six films – ; ; ; ; and – but they all seem interesting and have rarely screened anywhere.
I’ve booked in to see all of them.
LAST SUMMER
The latest from the fearless French auteur (, , ) centres on a family lawyer confronted by her attraction to her troublesome new stepson.
Though a remake of the 2019 Danish film , such a salacious premise seems perfect for Breillat, who tackles complicated gender dynamics and sexual relationships with unashamed brio and a clear eye.
In her films, emotional violence and physical violence are sometimes one and the same, and characters make decisions for reasons known fully only to themselves.
will assuredly be as provocative as it is well-crafted.
Master Gardener
Legendary writer and director who wrote 70s and 80s classics including , and , and directed and , has been on a late-career roll.
Ever since he experimented with the low-budget, lo-fi, distinctly modern fable in 2013, Schrader has tackled the current moment with a series of darkly funny and spiritual character studies.
First was 2017’s , starring as a minister struggling to find hope in the face of encroaching climate disaster; next was 2021’s , starring as a former Abu Ghraib guard and torturer trying to lay low on the casino circuit.
His latest is , starring as a former white supremacist working as a horticulturalist for a wealthy southern patron played by .
Schrader’s obsession with his archetypal ‘man in a room’ protagonists often leads to familiar stories and character beats, but few directors are so willing to confront the horror of contemporary society straight on.
Strong performances, striking digital images and moral ambiguities are guaranteed.
The is in cinemas 3-20 August and online 18-27 August. The University of Melbourne is proud to be the official learning partner of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
