Cult rock musicals and Cannes Grand Prix winners lead the MIFF 2026 lineup
You know that feeling when your phone pings with something you didn’t know you needed? That’s exactly what happened earlier this cold winter morning: the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) 2026 just dropped its first 25 titles, and let me tell you, it’s shaping up to be a wild, wonderful ride.
From live 4K commentary on a cult rock musical to adrenaline-pumping urban thrillers and the world’s quietest yet most mesmerising documentaries, this year’s festival is promising to be nothing short of electric.
It's running 6–23 August 2026 across Naarm (Melbourne) and regional Victoria, with online screenings extending until 30 August. Here's everything you need to know.
Film still from 'Queen at Sea', courtesy MIFF
The full list of first-glance titles
The Airport Chaplain
The Best Summer
Dead Man’s Wire
Death of a Shaman
Digby & Camille
Extra Geography
Guided By Horses
Hard as Puck
Hear My Eyes: Memento
The History of Concrete
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Jebediah: Are We OK?
John Cameron Mitchell Presents: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Mad Rush
Minotaur, Mum
I’m Alien Pregnant
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
Phenomena
Queen at Sea
Rose
The Samurai and the Prisoner
The Story of Documentary
The Sun Never Sets
Sweet Milk Lake
We Are Aliens
Film still from 'The Airport Chaplain', courtesy MIFF.
Where and when to get tickets
MIFF Members get exclusive pre-sale access from 9–14 July, with general tickets going on sale from 14 July.
Tickets are available exclusively via the MIFF website. You can opt to purchase a six or 12 film Multi-pass, or you can opt to buy single tickets to individual screenings.
Our pick of must-see films
Films that have us buzzing include:
Minotaur – Cannes' Grand Prix winner, shows Andrey Zvyagintsev channel fury into marital and political collapse in Putin-era Russia.
Rose – with Sandra Hüller, explores 17th-century gender and identity in a quietly devastating folktale.
Queen at Sea – starring Juliette Binoche and Tom Courtenay, unpacking family tensions and dementia in a humanist masterpiece.
The Sun Never Sets – Joe Swanberg’s return in a mumblecore-infused Alaskan love triangle shot in radiant 35mm.
Dead Man’s Wire – featuring Bill Skarsgård and Al Pacino, where a 70s kidnapping becomes a darkly comic exploration of media spectacle.
John Cameron Mitchell Presents: Hedwig and the Angry Inch – John Cameron Mitchell (yes, the genius behind 2001's Hedwig and the Angry Inch) will be in town for a one-night-only live 4K commentary screening. You'll get to sit in a packed cinema while Mitchell guides you through 25 years of genderfluid rock brilliance – it's a rare chance to witness a cult classic celebrated exactly as it deserves to be.
Hear My Eyes: Memento – Don’t sleep on Hear My Eyes' performance of Memento, pairing a restored 4K screening of Christopher Nolan’s debut thriller with a brand-new score performed live.
Digby & Camille – part of the MIFF Premiere Fund championing Aussie talent – offers a tender look at a couple living with Down syndrome.
Mad Rush, Maddelin McKenna’s debut is another we can't wait for, transforming Melbourne’s CBD into a dizzying thriller.
Film still from 'Dead Man's Wire', courtesy MIFF.
Screenings outside of Melbourne
MIFF isn’t just Melbourne-centric. Regional screenings hit:
Bendigo
Ballarat
Castlemaine
Geelong
Healesville
Rosebud
Sale
Warrnambool
Screenings in these cities will take place over two weekends: 14–16 and 21–23 August.
MIFF Schools will also bring diverse films in multiple languages to students, and MIFF Online will once again allow out-of-towners nationwide stream a curated selection from 14–30 August.