The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
As July rolls around, so too does the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (MDFF). Since it’s launch in 2016, MDFF has become a stalwart of the Australian film festival scene, premiering over 400 documentaries.
As one of the biggest showcases of documentaries in the Southern Hemisphere, it promises to screen and showcase quality local Australian documentaries, as well as a wide range of International documentaries, curated from world class features hot off the most prestigious international festivals like Sundance and Venice Film Festival.
This year is no different. But with such a massive line up of incredible work, you may be asking where to begin! Fear not - we’ve got you covered, with our top 10 picks from this years MDFF.
In(Di)Visible
This Australian documentary is filmed through the window of the filmmaker’s studio, during a three-month residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris. Shot in 2017, this experimental short feature merges personal diary entries with anecdotes and dreams to make sense of a world at the time of President Trump’s inauguration. In(Di)Visible is part of MDFF’s online screening selection, so you can get a look at this one early, from the comfort of your own home anywhere in Australia, and experience a truly unique take on documentary filmmaking.
Angel
This documentary from Charlotte White takes an intimate and in-depth look at India Angel’s songwriting process, and her work on her celebrated debut single ‘Move On’. It reveals the emotional and vulnerable road from pen and paper to commercial success. If you’re a Melbournite, or in town for the festival, you can check this out in one of MDFF’s in-cinema screenings, and in fact this piece is the Opening Night film, so you can experience all of the glitz and glamour of that too!
Finite - The Climate of Change
We love a good existential crisis, and there’s nothing more likely to incite one than any of the myriad great doco’s on climate change. This piece focuses on the core of the climate movement, giving us an in-depth look at concerned citizens in Germany who put their bodies on the line to save an ancient forest from Europe’s largest coal mine. They form an unlikely alliance with a frustrated community in rural England who are forced into action to protect their homes from a new opencast coal mine. This film is another from MDFF’s online selection, so you can softly cry into your pillow, wallowing at the state of the world, while you watch it from the comfort of your home.
The Sanctuary
Ray Lewis, OAM, snorkels among the vibrant sea life of the marine sanctuary he has helped to protect in this short Aussie documentary. Recounting his love of the water as he does so, it is a beautiful and intriguing look at conservationism, and the strange bond those who spend such time in the water form with its environment and inhabitants. Catch this one live in-cinema down in Melbourne in one of MDFF’s ‘short sessions’.
Beneath The Lonesome Skye
Outside of graffiti covered laneways, there are few places more ‘Melbourne’ than Federation Square. MDFF brings the documentaries to the iconic location, with a selection of the roster playing at the famed square. Case in point - Beneath The Lonesome Skye, which is a gorgeous documentary set on the Isle of Skye. In it, an underwater photographer raises awareness of the island’s fragile marine ecology, focussing on the smaller creatures that are essential to the bottom of the food chain.
The Satoshi Mystery - At The Origins of Bitcoin
Another online screening, The Satoshi Mystery attempts to shed a bit of light on the hidden creator behind Bitcoin. He disappeared in 2011, and his whereabouts and identity has been not only the subject of innumerable think pieces and speculative articles, but also increasingly finding its way into pop culture content (just look at the most recent season of Devils). If you’re looking for an interesting but informative take on the phenom, as well as the exciting history of Bitcoin and blockchain technology from the perspective of its mysterious founder, this one’s for you.
Ruby
Ruby is a 5 minute documentary that depicts the pressure Ruby feels from her family to marry who they choose. In her culture, marriage is a family affair where everyone is involved, and her family has been on the hunt for someone to ‘take care of her’ for years now. Ruby, however, is in no rush to settle, and must find her own way. This in-cinema short is a little gem, and set in Melbourne.
Cats of Malta
I mean, this one’s self explanatory. Both in terms of what it’s about (Cats of Malta), and why you should see it (Cats of Malta).
The Sound of Identity
An online screening, but a premiere one at that, The Sound of Identity focuses on the first transgender woman ever to perform as Don Giovanni in a professional opera. In the spotlight of global media coverage, she makes her historic debut in one of the reddest states in the U.S.
The Healing
Last, but certainly not least, we have the closing night in-cinema screening of The Healing. This Aussie doco is an inspiring piece about transformation, and getting a second chance in life. It explores a life-saving equine welfare program that brings traumatised ex-racehorses and traumatised military veterans together; with the goal being that the two help each other heal.
The MDFF runs from the 1st to the 31st of July, with the online program running for the full month, and the in-cinema portion running from the 21st to the 31st of July 2022.
You can find out more, buy tickets, and check out even more of MDFF’s extensive program at the button below.