Overview
Couldn't make it to the Cannes Film Festival this year? No, neither could we. Thankfully, this year's Melbourne International Film Festival is serving up the next best thing, with no fewer than 30 titles heading straight from the French Riviera to MIFF.
Yes, it's the festival's biggest Cannes haul in recent years; however this isn't a quantity over quality situation. From Nicolas Winding Refn's highly anticipated modelling thriller The Neon Demon starring Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks, and Keanu Reeves, to Asghar Farhadi's best actor and screenplay-winning The Salesman, you'll find new flicks from everyone's favourite directors and award recipients alike among the lineup (as well as a few films we've been keenly hoping would make their way to Australia).
Other highlights include psychological thriller Elle by Showgirls, Basic Instinct and Starship Troopers director Paul Verhoeven; The Unknown Girl by Belgian filmmaking siblings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne; Staying Vertical, the latest transgressive exploration of desire and masculine identity by Stranger by the Lake's Alain Guiraudie; and animated delight My Life as a Courgette, which is scripted by Girlhood filmmaker Céline Sciamma. And for those after other awarded and applauded efforts will find Cristian Mungiu's Best Director-winning drama Graduation, 2016 Prix Jean Vigo recipient The Death of Louis XIV, Cannes Critics Week Grand Prize winner Mimosas, and Un Certain Regard standouts The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki and Harmonium among the bustling bunch.
Plus, in good news for Melburnians that weren't able to go along to this year's Sydney Film Festival either, a heap of Cannes flicks that just had their Aussie premieres in NSW over the last fortnight are also on the bill. SFF prize winner Aquarius, ghostly Kristen Stewart vehicle Personal Shopper and Park Chan-wook's deliriously over-the-top The Handmaiden were among our picks of the fest, should you need any help choosing something to see. Elsewhere, offbeat Viggo Mortensen-starring family drama Captain Fantastic, Pedro Almodovar's colourful melodrama Julieta, gorgeous Studio Ghibli animation The Red Turtle and German workplace comedy Toni Erdmann are well worth a look, as are the Jim Jarmush-directed duo of Iggy Pop doco Gimme Danger and poetic character study Paterson.
With the list of MIFF-bound Cannes features joining the festival's other announcements thus far — including their opening night selection, Next Gen section and a batch of other sneak peek titles — this year's cinema showcase is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever. The rest of the program won't be announced until July 5, with tickets on sale on July 7, but based on the lineup to date, we're certain that it won't prove us wrong.
The Melbourne International Film Festival runs from July 28 to August 14. For more information, visit the MIFF website — and check back on July 5, when the full program is announced.