Melbourne International Film Festival launch their 2020 program – MIFF 68 ½

In a bid to maintain the state of cinema and reimagine the festival mind-frame, the Melbourne International Film Festival has launch MIFF 68½, an online curated program that’ll allow home-bound Melburnians the chance to experience the festival’s intended 2020 line-up.

Running from the 6th-23rd August 2020, MIFF 68½ will showcase 113 films across its schedule – including 12 world premieres, 83 Australian premieres, 44 short features, and a special virtual reality screening – as well as the expected Short Awards, MIFF Talks, Critics Campus, and virtual adaptations of the infamous social events; this year’s program will also tally 49% of all films to be directed by at least one woman.

Headlined by the gala Opening Night, Closing Ceremony, and Centrepiece event, MIFF 68½‘s first night feature will be the Australian premiere of revered auteur Kelly Reichardt‘s acclaimed drama First Cow.  The Centrepiece event will showcase Benh Zeitlin‘s anticipated follow-up to Beasts of the Southern Wild, Wendy, a fantasy re-imagining of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, and Pablo Larrain‘s Spanish-language drama Ema will serve as the Closing Ceremony event.

Other highlights to be featured throughout the digital festival include Black Bear, a dark, devious psychodrama featuring a career-best turn from Aubrey Plaza, Dingo, a gloriously restored print of Rolf de Heer‘s jazz-centric Australian drama featuring the only major motion picture performance from the great Miles Davis, and the Geelong-based Australian rom-com Paper Champions, an uplifting tale centred around Polynesian culture and what it is to find love through your own self-confidence.

Showcasing further proof of both the importance of the arts and the tenacity there is in broadcasting these films to an appreciative audience, MIFF 68½ is a landmark event for the Australian festival scene.  Tickets for the general public will go on sale from Friday July 17th on the official MIFF website, as well as detailing the full line-up of features involved and just how you can view your desired titles from the comfort of your own home.

Peter Gray

Film critic with a penchant for Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa, Michelle Pfeiffer and horror movies, harbouring the desire to be a face of entertainment news.