Film Festival Firsts Revealed

It’s our favourite time of year, film festival season. Last week the Sydney Film Festival (SFF) gave us a sneak peek into their 2021 program – and, today the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) announced their first 32 films for this year’s festival.

We’re excited to be part of both festivals and bring you Australian films that we think are amazing. Learn a little bit about our films below.

Streamline
Director: Tyson Wade Johnston
A feature about a prodigious 15-year-old swimmer with Olympic dreams who self-destructs after his father is released from prison. Inspired in part by the career of Ian Thorpe, who makes an appearance in a cameo.

Ablaze
Director: Alec Morgan, Tiriki Onus
The true story of the first Aboriginal filmmaker William Bill Onus. Ablaze tells of Bill Onus, a Yorta Yorta/Wiradjuri man from Victoria, a truly heroic cultural and political figure who revived his peopleʼs culture in the 1940s and ignited a civil rights movement that would, against enormous odds, change the course of history.

Hear My Eyes: Two Hands x The Murlocs
Director: Gregor Jordan
Event Artistic Director: Haydn Green
Hear My Eyes has returned to MIFF as garage-rock favourites The Murlocs perform their very own reimagined live score to the Aussie classic Two Hands, Gregor Jordan’s crime caper starring a breakout Heath Ledger and Rose Byrne.

The Kids
Director: Eddie Martin
Selected for Tribeca 2021, this documentary revisits the original cast from Larry Clark’s notorious indie cult classic Kids. United by skateboarding, they cultivated a family and built a unique lifestyle.

Stay tuned, we’ll have more exciting news to come.

MIFF is taking place from August 5 to 22 – and SFF from August 18 to 29.