Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Festival in 1932, Cannes Film Festival in 1939 and Berlin Film Festival in 1951.
Location
Currently held in the month of August and spanning events in the Melbourne CBD as well as inner-suburban and regional Victoria, MIFF screens films from both Australia and across the world to an audience of approximately 150,000.[1] It is the largest film festival in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, and is the world’s largest showcase of new Australian cinema.[2] The 2022 festival contributed A$9.7 million to the City of Melbourne’s economy.[1]
Alongside its expansive and well-received film program, MIFF realizes its vision, “An enlightened, inclusive, engaged society through film”,[2] via its renowned industry programs (the co-financing fund Premiere Fund, the talent incubator program Accelerator Lab and the film-financing market 37°South), its skill-building initiatives for youth (MIFF Schools and Critics Campus), and the MIFF Awards that recognize both short- and longform filmmaking talent.
History[edit]
MIFF was originally launched as the Olinda Film Festival in 1952 after a group of delegates to the 1951 Australian Council of Film Societies suggested that a film event be established in the eponymous tourist town. It was renamed the Melbourne Film Festival in 1953 and held this title over many decades before transforming into the Melbourne International Film Festival.[3][4] Appointed in 1956, Erwin Rado was the festival’s first director, holding the role until 1979 and returning for a single-year stint in 1983;[3] the Australian Dictionary of Biography notes that he shaped the film event’s character with his “uncompromising drive for excellence”.[5]
Following Rado, the festival was headed up by Geoffrey Gardner (1980–1982), Paul Seto (1984), Paul Coulter (1985), Santina Musumeci (1986–1987), Tait Brady (1988–1996), Sandra Sdraulig (1997–2000), James Hewison (2001–2006), Richard Moore (2007–2010), Michelle Carey (2011–2018) and current artistic director Al Cossar (2019–present).[4][6]
Controversies[edit]
Breakaway film festival (2000)[edit]
In 2000, MIFF's rejection of a feature film written and directed by Richard Wolstencroft led him to form the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF). In subsequent years, MUFF has attracted controversy by criticising the content of MIFF, as well as its management, specifically the leadership of former directors. MUFF sees itself as a space for exciting and edgy Australian cinema that may not be played at MIFF.[13][14]
Looking for Eric (2009)[edit]
In June 2009, Ken Loach, Paul Laverty (writer) and Rebecca O'Brien (producer) pulled their film Looking for Eric from the festival because the Israeli Embassy was a sponsor and the festival declined to withdraw their sponsorship. Moore compared Loach's tactics to blackmail, stating that "we will not participate in a boycott against the State of Israel, just as we would not contemplate boycotting films from China or other nations involved in difficult long-standing historical disputes".[15]
Uyghur film (2009)[edit]
During the 58th festival in 2009, the film The 10 Conditions of Love (2009), which documents the life of the exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, was screened despite many attempts by the Government of China to have the film withdrawn from the festival. Chinese filmmakers withdrew their films from the festival two days before it opened on 24 July 2009.[16] Former MIFF director Richard Moore refused to remove the film from the festival program,[17] despite the hacking of the festival website and attempts to hack its online ticketing system from IP addresses of Chinese origin. Later, both pro-Chinese and pro-Uyghur activists attempted to disrupt ticketing due to the media coverage.[18][19][20] The Chinese Government contacted Robert Doyle, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne asking him to intervene,[21] but he refused. Australia's Ambassador to China Geoff Raby was summoned by China's Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun to express displeasure about Kadeer's attendance at MIFF.[22]
Victoria Police was placed on alert during the screening of the film and Pro-Uighur demonstrators also gathered outside the Melbourne Town Hall,[21] and the Dalai Lama sent a message of support via Michael Danby, the MP for Melbourne Ports:[23]