Melbourne Women in Film Festival
Melbourne's female-focused film festival returns for the tenth year with five days of screenings, panels and workshops at ACMI and Fed Square.
Overview
When Hollywood's biggest awards can run for almost a century and only give three female filmmakers its Best Director gong in that entire time so far, it's clear that gender diversity hasn't been big on the cinema industry's priorities. But for ten years now, the Melbourne Women in Film Festival (MWFF) has been doing its part to celebrate women in film, as its name makes plain — and it's back for 2026.
Running across screens at ACMI and Fed Square, this year's festival will take place from Thursday, March 19 to Monday, March 23. So what can be expected in this year's program? Up first is one of the most celebrated Australian LGBTQIA+ films of recent memory, Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese's animated comedy, Lesbian Space Princess, during the opening night gala.
Then on Saturday, March 21, there's The Offing, a psychological thriller and the directorial debut of local filmmaker duo Lily Lunder and Koko Crozier alongside the first-ever feature film in the native dialogue of East Cape iwi Ngāti Porou, Kōkā, a 'lyrical road film' from Māori director Kath Akuhata-Brown. Plus, Freshly Squeezed Shorts 1 and 2 will showcase the latest short films from women and gender-diverse filmmakers in Australia and New Zealand across morning and afternoon sessions.
On Sunday, March 22, a 4K restoration of Jane Campion's 1989 classic Sweetie will be followed later in the day by two more short film selections, Reel Shorts and Next Gen Shorts, showcasing a selection of documentaries and films from rising filmmaker talents, respectively. Then, closing the festival on Monday, March 23, is the final short film fest, Homegrown, celebrating the shortform work of Victorian filmmakers.
Beyond the screens, MWFF will share insights from women and gender-diverse filmmakers and further celebrate their work with industry panels, expert-led roundtables award shows throughout the festival.
For the full MWFF 2026 program or to book your tickets, visit the website.
Images: supplied
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