MIFF's 2026 Program Is Here, with the Australian Premiere of Olivia Colman's Whimsical Flick 'Wicker' Opening the Festival
Melbourne’s biggest film celebration returns with acclaimed premieres, major international hits and an opening-night crowd-pleaser.
With more than 300 screen works taking over cinemas for 18 days in August, choosing just one to signal the launch of the Melbourne International Film Festival is not as easy as it seems. While last year's edition kicked things off with the Rose Byrne-starring If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, MIFF 2026 is trading unsettling anxiety for crowd-pleasing whimsy, as Wicker lands the prestigious opening night screening.
From the mind of Australian-born writer-director Eleanor Wilson and her filmmaking and real-life partner Alex Huston Fischer, the film stars Olivia Colman in a role that recalls her fiery turn in The Favourite. Plus, a magnetic Alexander Skarsgård leads a star-studded ensemble, including Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant and Melbourne's own Elizabeth Debicki.
Adapting Ursula Wills-Jones's 2008 short story and shot by The Brutalist Oscar winner Lol Crawley, beneath Wicker's whimsical surface is a sharp critique of small-mindedness, superstition and overzealous conservatism — a fable that asks whether we truly know our heart's desire. If you grab your tickets to the screening — happening Thursday, August 6, at Hoyts Melbourne Central — Wilson and Fischer will be in attendance to celebrate the film's Australian premiere.
Meanwhile, the rest of this year's headliners are equally captivating. Be among the first to experience Minotaur, Andrey Zvyagintsev's savage Cannes Grand Prix-winning return from exile; Rose, in which Sandra Hüller claimed the Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance for her turn in Markus Schleinzer's quietly devastating folktale; and Gus Van Sant's blackly comedic Dead Man's Wire, a paranoid 70s kidnapping thriller starring Bill Skarsgård, Al Pacino and Dacre Montgomery.
Then, cinematic highlights hand-picked from around the globe include Ben'Imana, Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo's feature exploring a Rwandan village where Gacaca tribunals still grapple with the legacy of the 1994 genocide. We Are All Strangers, directed by Anthony Chen, was the first Singaporean film to compete at the Berlinale in the festival's 70-plus-year history, while Théodore Pellerin — the star of 2025's must-see Lurker — plays the lead role in Nino, following a young Parisian man through a fog-tinged weekend after a cancer diagnosis.
If you're a doco-lover, MIFF's selection is also a standout. Adam's Apple chronicles the milestones of gender-affirming care, The Siege of Paradise turns its lens on Cinque Terre and the double-edged sword of tourism, and The History of Concrete — from John Wilson, the cult filmmaker behind HBO's beloved How To With John Wilson — makes more than a few profound discoveries as it explores the world's most ubiquitous building material.
As usual, MIFF provides a platform for cinema's most exciting emerging filmmakers, with its Bright Horizons Competition returning in 2026 to present ten Australian premieres from twelve directors on the ascent. Catch Big Girls Don't Cry, an unflinchingly honest portrait of queer adolescence in a sleepy New Zealand beach town, and Blue Heron, offering an autobiographical perspective as director Sophy Romvari sifts through old home videos and bittersweet memories of a 90s Vancouver Island childhood.
Alongside a host of special events, including Footy Shorts — featuring five short films dedicated to Australia's game — MIFF will also present another instalment of Hear My Eyes, a groundbreaking clash of live music and cinema. Whereas last year's edition featured Terminator 2: Judgment Day, complete with an immersive laser show, the 2026 show offers a unique take on Christopher Nolan's Memento, with King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard drummer Michael "Cavs" Cavanagh composing and performing an entirely new live score.
Melbourne International Film Festival returns Thursday, August 6–Sunday, August 23, presented across multiple venues. Head to the website for more information.
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Images: Supplied.
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