The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) 2026, running from 6 to 23 August, offers a diverse program including a hard-hitting drama starring Channing Tatum, a new Australian dramedy featuring Hugo Weaving and Shabana Azeez, and an 'astonishing' hour-long virtual reality experience. Tickets go on sale from Tuesday 14 July at 10am.
Must-See VR Experience: The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up
Director Singing Chen's Taiwanese-German production is a free-roaming VR narrative following Guan, a Taiwanese lawyer whose wife dies, leaving an unfinished novel. He enters its world on an emotional mountain journey. The production was a hot ticket at Venice Immersive and is described as 'once experienced, never forgotten.'
Minotaur: A Russian Auteur's Commentary on Authoritarianism
Andrey Zvyagintsev's latest, set after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, follows a wealthy businessman (Dmitriy Mazurov) tasked with finding men to be drafted while suspecting his wife's affair. The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes and earned a five-star review from Guardian's Peter Bradshaw.
Josephine: A Hard-Hitting Drama with Channing Tatum
Beth de Araújo's film explores the trauma of an eight-year-old girl (Mason Reeves) after witnessing a violent sexual assault in a park with her father (Channing Tatum). Called 'one of the most essential films of 2026' by the festival, it has been hailed as an 'instant classic' by Rolling Stone, 'masterful' by IndieWire, and 'stunning' by the Guardian.
Hen: A Surreal Drama from a Chicken's Perspective
György Pálfi's Hungarian-German-Greek film tells a story about poverty and people smuggling from the point of view of a chicken. Critics have praised it, comparing it favorably to the 2022 donkey-POV film EO.
Nuisance Bear: A Sundance-Winning Documentary
Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman's film, winner of the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, examines polar bears deemed 'nuisance bears' due to climate change. It features no talking heads and sparse narration by Inuit elder Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons.
Nino: A Paris-Set Drama About a Cancer Diagnosis
Pauline Loquès's film follows Nino (Théodore Pellerin) over the weekend of his 29th birthday after a cancer diagnosis, as he wanders through Paris. It invites comparisons to Agnès Varda's Cléo from 5 to 7.
The Airport Chaplain: New Australian TV Series
Bonnie Moir and Tig Terera's series stars Hugo Weaving as an unorthodox airport chaplain who bends rules to help passengers, with Shabana Azeez as his rule-abiding boss. The world premiere is at MIFF.
Portrait of Jason: A 1967 Classic
Shirley Clarke's film features gay African American performer Jason Holliday, who holds the screen for a single night during a 12-hour shoot, sharing stories of his colorful life.
Whistle: A Documentary on Competitive Whistling
Christopher Nelius's film explores the world of competitive whistling, focusing on the biennial Masters of Musical Whistling competition in Los Angeles.
Special Focus: Sarah Watt
A retrospective of Australian film-maker Sarah Watt, who died in 2011 at 53, includes screenings of her feature films Look Both Ways and My Year Without Sex, and animated shorts, coinciding with the ACMI exhibition The Way of the Birds.
