MIFF 72 PREVIEW

It's that time of year again, Melbournians! With over 250 films from 62 countries, the 72nd Melbourne International Film Festival is set to take over the final, bitter month of the city's winter. The 2024 lineup dropped 24 hours ago, so this weekend is the perfect time to sort out those timetable clashes and getting ready for Tuesday's general sale at 9am! Once again, MIFF is catering to festivalgoers of all creeds, with metropolitan screenings from the 8th to 25th of August and select regional sessions through the same period.

As always, tackling MIFF's mammoth lineup is never an easy feat, so I've taken the liberty of sifting through to bring you some of this year's unmissable program highlights...

Isabelle Huppert's ('EO') third collaboration with Korean director Hong Sang-soo (whose film 'Walk Up' featured at MIFF 2023) really doesn’t need much selling – it won Berlinale’s Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize earlier this year – but the more eyes on Hong’s work, the better. ‘A Traveler’s Needs’ sees Huppert’s Iris boarding with a much younger man – a humorous reversal of stereotypical housing set ups – and floating through life without much to anchor her beyond French lessons and drinking rice wine. If last year’s 'Perfect Days' was among your MIFF highlights, ‘A Traveler’s Needs’ will no doubt be up your alley. Let Hong and Huppert whisk you away in their elliptical musings.

Playing 18th and 21st August in Metropolitan areas.

Acclaimed filmmaker Coralie Fargeat boldly debuted in 2017 with her film 'Revenge', and her much-anticipated, Cannes-buzz-generating follow-up ‘The Substance’ appears guaranteed to cement her status as a bona fide body horror heavyweight. Featuring performances from Demi Moore (TV’s ‘Feud’), Dennis Quaid ('Strays') and Margaret Qualley ('Kinds of Kindness'), ‘The Substance’ promises glamour and gross-out moments in the vein of MIFF 2016 classic 'The Neon Demon'. This one is sure to sell out its limited sessions, but don’t stress if you miss out; it will also hit Australian cinemas on September 19.

Playing 14th, 17th and 23nd August in Metropolitan areas.

Any film lover with an X account (or Twitter, as I still call it) in the last 18 months will have no doubt seen that image of a terrified, injured Hunter Schafer (‘Kinds of Kindness’) hiding from an ominous-looking individual, making ‘Cuckoo’ one of those meme-ified films with a single promotional still and no release date in sight. Playing as part of MIFF’s Night Shift selection dedicated to "lovers of the outlandish, creepy and weird things that go bump in the night," don’t go into ‘Cuckoo’ without a friend to hide behind.

Click here to read our full Sydney Film Festival review of 'Cuckoo'.

Playing 10th and 21st August in Metropolitan areas.

MIFF can be a surprisingly exhausting experience despite how much time is spent sitting in a theatre, so why not get your body moving at one of MIFF’s interactive XR sessions? Using real-time motion tracking to map viewers body movements, ‘kajoo yannaga’ is a unique new way to engage with First Nations storytelling, as viewers follow the Sky Spirit through a virtual Country walk. And in case you weren’t already sold, every session of ‘kajoo yannaga’ is free!

Playing 10am to 9pm daily at ACMI.

Shot in Melbourne and presented by VicScreen as part of the Bright Horizons competition, ‘Inside’ is the debut feature film of Charles Williams, who won the Short Film Palme d'Or at Cannes for 2018’s ‘All These Creatures’. ‘Inside’ sees Williams tackle the tangled lives of Australia’s maximum-security prison inmates, as their fight for survival, retribution and salvation reaches tense and violent conclusions. Williams will also be attending all sessions of his film at the festival, so be sure secure your ticket!

Playing 9th, 14th and 22nd August in Metropolitan areas.

This year, to help those doing the mad between-session dash across the CBD, some MIFF sessions will feature allocated seating so message your group chats and ensure you all secure your seats together (or take the opportunity to strike up a conversation with a new cinephile friend)! Whether you're a festival veteran or a first-time attendee, there's something for everyone’s taste in this year's line-up. Happy viewing!

Check back closer to the festival of SWITCH's coverage and reviews!