MIFF Announces First 25 Films for 2026

Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) returns for its 74th edition in August. Today the festival revealed the first 25 films, and as usual, they hint at a thoroughly eclectic program stretching from grassroots to prestige; documentary to thriller.

Australia’s own Hugo Weaving and Shabana Azeez (The Pitt) come together in The Airport Chaplain, a new eight-part drama series airing on SBS this year. Before then, you can catch the exclusive world premiere at MIFF. Inspired by a real encounter with Tullamarine’s chaplain – a non-denominational support person who helps those experiencing grief, emergencies, flight anxiety and other issues – the film follows harried Melbourne Airport fixer Tobias Wallace (Weaving), who thinks the place will fall apart without him. Everything changes when his new boss Mira (Azeez) enters the picture and tries to tame his cowboy ways. With Claudia Karvan and Heartbreak High’s Thomas Weatherall in supporting roles, this is likely to generate plenty of buzz.

For further star power, auteur Gus Van Sant (Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot) is back with black comedy Dead Man’s Wire. The film retells the true story of a 1977 hostage situation in Indianapolis, which saw real estate developer Tony Kiritsis (here, Bill Skarsgård) kidnap mortgage broker Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery), rig a shotgun to his neck using a “dead man’s line” and walk him through the streets, leading to the whole incident being broadcast live. Al Pacino and Colman Domingo round out the stacked cast.

Director Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Easy), known for his small budget, improv-heavy productions, returns to the big screen with The Sun Never Sets, which sees Dakota Fanning navigating a messy, comedic love triangle in the Alaskan wilderness. Shot in 35mm with a backdrop of vast skies, it promises to be beautiful and heartfelt.

Another major headliner, Rose, stars multi-award-winning German actress Sandra Huller. Set in the 1600s, the tale follows the eponymous soldier disguised as a man. Appearing at a small village, she stakes a claim for a long-abandoned farm but must contend with the suspicious locals. In making Rose, Austrian filmmaker Markus Schleinzer drew on hundreds of historical accounts of gender transgression to craft an accurate, disquieting look at identity and deception through the ages.

Rounding out the major picks is the next project from Hear My Eyes, which updates classic films with brand-new scores performed live. Fresh from Terminator II at Hamer Hall, this time it’s tackling early Christopher Nolan film Memento, with a score from a Melbourne music scene darling to be announced soon.

Another very special screening, John Cameron Mitchell Presents: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, will see the American director, playwright and two-time Tony Award winner touching down in Melbourne to add live commentary to his 25-year-old genderfluid classic, shown in restored 4K for one night only at the Astor. Tickets for these two shows are on sale well ahead of the rest – get your credit card ready from 10am on June 17.

Closer to home, the MIFF Premiere Fund has so far invested in more than 100 titles since its inception almost two decades ago. The initial program drop includes six more.

If you’re a fan of Cool Runnings or The Mighty Ducks, Isaac Elliott's underdog documentary Hard as Puck should be top of your list. It follows WA’s best and only para ice hockey team, The Garden Island Pirates, as it tries to score sponsorships, overcome red tape and ultimately take on titans like Norway and the United States.

Award-winning filmmaker Trevor Graham (Make Hummus Not War, MIFF 2012) is back with Digby & Camille, a tender documentary about Archibald Prize-selected painter Digby Webster and trainee chef Camille Collins, who are madly in love and both live with Down syndrome. They want to get married and move in together, but their respective parents have questions. Webster, who co-directed the film, blends years of everyday footage with his own animated sequences, to convey a story of hope, passion and the occasional frustration.

Australian filmmaker Dan Jackson spent over a decade building trust with communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon for documentary Death of a Shaman, which sees a medicine man scrambling to pass sacred knowledge onto his teenage grandson while protecting his people from resource-hungry corporations that threaten their way of life. Drawing on footage from protests, ayahuasca ceremonies and intimate family life, this is a raw, textural film that resonates with urgency even from halfway across the world.

Sweet Milk Lake sees debut filmmaker Harvey Zielinski directing and starring in a deeply personal dramedy about a young trans man growing up in a remote country town. Much of the film’s tension arises from the daily deceptions he engages in to find a way to belong, but a budding romance adds some much needed tenderness.

Melbourne’s laneways are the setting for Maddelin McKenna’s (Patterns of the Afternoon, MIFF 2022) Mad Rush, which begins with a phone call about phony bank activity and follows its gen Z recipient spiralling over the course of one hectic day.

Finally, Arlo Dean Cook’s documentary Jebediah: Are We OK? traces the Perth band’s 30-year journey from high school to Triple J darlings to commercial success. Drawing on three decades of archival and home-movie footage plus interviews with local music icons Tim Rogers, Phil Jamieson and Janet English, the film is a celebration of enduring friendships – but also a cautionary story about the trappings of success.

The full MIFF program is out on July 9. Pre-sale tickets open at 8pm on July 9 for MIFF members. Tickets for the general public are available from 10am on July 14.

MIFF 2026 runs from August 6–23. MIFF Online screens nationally from August 14–30.

Full list of initial films
Dead Man’s Wire
Death of a Shaman (Premiere Fund)
Digby and Camille (Premiere Fund)
Extra Geography
Guided By Horses
Hard as Puck (Premiere Fund)
Hear My Eyes: Memento
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Jebediah: Are We OK? (Premiere Fund)
John Cameron Mitchell Presents: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Mad Rush (Premiere Fund)
Minotaur
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant
Phenomena
Queen at Sea
Rose
Sweet Milk Lake (Premiere Fund)
The Airport Chaplain
The Best Summer
The History of Concrete
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
The Samurai and the Prisoner
The Story of Documentary
The Sun Never Sets
We Are Aliens

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