film list

Melbourne International Film Festival

	Bad Language Short film Director: Viron Papadopoulos	Bill makes an unusual bet with the fractious regulars at his uncle's suburban Kafenois (a men's club, café and gambling den all in one) and words fly in more than one language.
	Blame Feature film/animation Director: Michael Henry	Seeking justice and revenge, five friends violently attack a man in his remote country house. Their plan: the perfect murder. Confident that their victim’s death by his own hand will not be questioned, they overdose him on sleeping pills, but it all goes horribly wrong when their attempt fails and their victim fights for his life.
	Bring 'em Back Documentary Director: Phillip Donnellon	Director Phillip Donnellon's documentary, full of humour and passion, harks back to a time before the government sell off of public assets, to a debate that brought this city to a standstill and caused deep divisions within the Victorian Labor party.
	Cane Toads: The Conquest Documentary Director: Mark Lewis	Mark Lewis traces the devastating migration of these amphibian invaders.
	Chocolate Cake Short film Director: Raphael Elisha
	Deeper Than Yesterday Short film Director: Ariel Kleiman	The crewmen in the claustrophobic world of a submerged submarine are confounded by a miracle at sea. Their reaction to it will determine if they are decent men or savages. Selected for Critics' Week at Cannes this year, this original drama focuses on a group of submariners who've been underwater for three months and whose humanity is beginning to fracture.
	Dreamland Feature film/animation Director: Ivan Sen	Set somewhere on the Extraterrestial Highway, just outside of the infamous Area 51, Dan Freeman, UFO hunter, searches for reasons for living and for signs of life from outer space.
	Drive Documentary Director: Bronwyn Purvis, Telen Rodwell	Drive examines the relationship between men and their cars - and the impact of their love of speed on family and community.
	Elephantiasis Short film Director: Sophie Hyde	Meredith suffers a serious affliction – Elephantiasis: being showered with elephant-themed gifts on any occasion. It’s a pity she hates elephants.
	Fatso Short film Director: Irina Goundortseva	Being an overweight lift attendant has its ups and downs.
	Flyscreen Short film Director: Richard Tuohy	An abstract fly’s-eye-view of the world featured in experimental 16mm cine-cubism.
	Franswa Sharl Short film Director: Hannah Hilliard	Twelve year old Greg has inherited his father’s competitive streak. On a family holiday to Fiji they have different ideas about where Greg should focus his talents. When his creative pursuits fail to amuse his father Greg sets out to win him back. Based on a true story.
	Glenn Owen Dodds Short film Director: Frazer Bailey	G.O.D spells Glenn Owen Dodds and this deity isn't quite what we've been led to believe.
	Kitchen Horror Short film Director: David Short	There’s horror lurking in every suburban kitchen… but the devil is in the detail.
	Lily Short film Director: Kasimir Burgess	A girl and her father share their last holiday. Based on a series of paintings by Julia Ciccarone.
	Little Sparrows Feature film/animation Director: Yu-Hsiu Camille Chen Starring: Nicola Bartlett, James Hagan, Nina Deasley NominatedActor: James Hagan Nominated Actress: Nicola Bartlett	This nuanced, heartrending independent feature traces the emotional lives of three sisters whose mother is dying of cancer.
	Lou Barlow: Goodnight Unknown Short film Director: Adam Harding	A revealing and intimate glimpse into the creative process of indie rock pioneer Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh and Folk Implosion.
	Machete Maidens Unleashed! Documentary Director: Mark Hartley	The all-too often overlooked world of Filipino exploitation flicks gets the Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood, MIFF 08) treatment in Machete Maidens Unleashed! Featuring interviews with Roger Corman, Joe Dante, John Landis, Eddie Romero and a host of filmmakers, actors and critics, each with a story about a genre with no scruples, no scripts, no boundaries and – more often than not – no clothes.
	Making It Handmade! Documentary Director: Anna Brownfield	Following four local women who’ve taken a seemingly staid past-time and injected it with a youthful, modern aesthetic, filmmaker Anna Brownfield shows a side of craft more closely aligned with punk DIY culture than with Martha Stewart and ‘home sweet home’ tapestries.
	Matching Jack Feature film/animation Director: Nadia Tass Starring: James Nesbitt, Richard Roxburgh, Jacinda Barrett, Colin Friels and Yvonne Strahovski	An inner-urban Melbourne family is turned upside down when their young son Jack is diagnosed with leukemia, and his father’s years of infidelity come to light. As the illness takes hold, a desperate mother searches for possible siblings from her husband’s affairs – children who may hold the key to curing her son.
	Mother of Rock: The Life and Times of Lillian Roxon Documentary Director: Paul Clarke	A tribute to a pioneer of modern rock journalism. In New York City in 1968 a revolution was under way in a tiny club called Max’s Kansas City. The reigning queen of Max’s was Australian journalist Lillian Roxon. She was a music visionary who understood before anyone else how important music would be in shaping popular culture, publishing her landmark Rock Encyclopedia in 1969.
	Muscles Short film Director: Edward Housden	Richard’s sister Millie wants to be a world famous bodybuilder. Millie, a testosterone driven 14-year-old girl, is the dominant force in the family. Richard is transparent. What happens when Millie is a better boy than he is?
	Pinion Short film Director: Asuka Sylvie	Suffering from a mysterious affliction, a young boy is left in the care of a secluded hospital where nothing is as it seems.
	Red Hill Feature film/animation Director: Patrick Hughes Starring: Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tommy Lewis, Claire van der Bloom NominatedActor: Ryan Kwanten	A young city cop moves to the country with his pregnant wife for some peace and quiet only to be thwarted on his first day when an escaped convict goes on a rampage.
	Scary Therapy Short animation Director: Suren Perera	Scary Therapy is a short animated film featuring monologues of monsters visiting a lifecoach. During the film we meet a vampire with first date nerves a zombie battling an addiction and a sexually confused swamp monster.
	Stony Point Short film Director: Olivia Peniston-Bird	Two sisters’ friendship is tested when their boring summer holiday is spiced up by the arrival of a new friend.
	Strange Birds in Paradise Documentary Director: Charlie Hill-Smith	Director Charlie Hill-Smith embarks on a journey through the culture and complex history of West Papua, jamming with exiled musicians in musicologist Dave Bridie's Melbourne studio.
	Summer Coda Feature film/animation Director: Richard Gray Starring: Rachael Taylor, Alex Dimitriades, Susie Porter, Jacki Weaver, Nathan Phillips, Angus Sampson and Cas	Having grown up with her mother in Nevada, Heidi (Rachael Taylor) hasn’t spoken to her father since she was seven. Now a young woman, haunted by his memory, she returns to Australia seeking closure. Travelling to her hometown on a shoestring, Heidi is forced to hitchhike and busk for cash. Her talent on the violin gains the attention of handsome orange grove owner Michael (Alex Dimitriades), who offers Heidi a ride. Both are initially guarded, but an unexpected connection soon blossoms.
	The Clinic Feature film/animation Director: James Rabbits Starring: Andy Whitfield, Clare Bowen and Sophie Lowe	Expectant mother Beth is drugged and kidnapped from a desolate, outback motel. When she awakens, she’s in an ice bath in an abandoned abattoir – and her baby has been removed from her body. She soon realises she’s not alone; five other women are trapped with her in the makeshift clinic, a place whose dire purpose gradually becomes all too apparent.
	The Kiss Short film Director: Ashlee Page	On a hot summer's night, two girls, fueled by hormones and alcohol, take a leap that will change their lives.
	The Lost Thing Short animation Director: Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann	In a world of rivets and drabness, a boy befriends a fantastical red creature that appears to be totatally lost: based on writer-director Tan's prize-winning children's book.
	The Mystery of Flying Kicks Short film Director: Matthew Bate	Murder, sex, drugs, art or politics? Sneakers hanging on telephone lines are a powerful urban symbol, but what do they mean?
	The Prelude Short film Director: Eddie Martin	A new man in her life. Will he call? The agony of waiting.
	The Tree Feature film/animation Director: Julie Berucelli Starring: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marton Csokas, Morgana Davies	After the sudden death of her father, 8-year-old Simone shares a secret with her mother Dawn She's convinced her father whispers to her through the leaves of her favourite tree and he's come back to protect them.
	The Wedding Party Feature film/animation Director: Amanda Jane	First time feature director Amanda Jane takes her camera into the heart of Melbourne and creates a fun-filled farce about family, love and the choices we make. From the sacred turf of the MCG to the city’s kinky underground, The Wedding Party explores everything that can go wrong (and right) in the search for love.
	Uninhabited Feature film/animation Director: Bill Bennett	For Beth and Harry, the perfect romantic escape means doing something different, and going somewhere that’s remote, secluded and completely uninhabited. But when they charter a boat to drop onto an isolated coral island, what seems at first like a lover’s paradise becomes something much more terrifying.
	Via Gori Short film Director: George Barbakadze	As Russian planes begin to bomb Georgia, a Russian woman and her daughter board a bus to escape – but will they be discovered?
	When the Wind Changes Short film Director: Alethea Jones	When Lake Denial dries up and bogan mates Jack, Kevin and Blandy are caught up in a supernatural incident, just getting by becomes a struggle.