Australian filmmakers are front and centre at this year's Melbourne International Film Festival, with award-winning director Jane Campion, actor-turned-director David Wenham, and actor Melissa George heading to the festival in August to premiere new films and TV series.
The full program, announced Tuesday, also includes a world premiere of Ben Elton's first Australian film Three Summers, starring Michael Caton, Magda Szubanski, Deborah Mailman and more; the world premiere of Jungle starring Daniel Radcliffe; and a slew of critically acclaimed films direct from the Cannes Film Festival.
"I'm actually really excited about the Australian selection this year," said Michelle Carey, now in her seventh year as MIFF artistic director. "I'm so excited to bring out Jane Campion. It's been a lifelong dream of mine – and she's very busy!"
Campion, who was born in New Zealand but is based in Sydney, will attend the festival for a screening of season two of Top of the Lake, called China Girl. It stars Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss – currently making waves in the latest buzz TV series The Handmaid's Tale – alongside Nicole Kidman, and will screen in its entirety in a marathon one-day event.
Also a world premiere is a screening of the first two episodes from season two of Glitch – the supernatural thriller filmed in Castlemaine in rural Victoria, which was picked up as a co-production by Netflix following its first season.
"We're pretty open [to TV series featuring at MIFF]," said Carey. " A lot of films go straight up on YouTube – why is that any different to TV?"
The film industry is cyclical, but this year is a "very strong" one for Australian film, Carey said, with each of MIFF's three major galas a world premiere of an Australian film.
It all kicks off on opening night with Greg McLean's Jungle, starring Daniel Radcliffe; the mid-festival gala is Elton's rom-com Three Summers; and closing the festival is Gurrumul Elcho Dreaming, a documentary from Paul Williams about award-winning Indigenous musician Gurrumul Yunupingu.
Wenham has swapped acting for directing with his first feature film behind the camera, Ellipsis, starring Emily Barclay and Benedict Samuel and with a soundtrack from Megan Washington.
Australian director and former Tropfest winner Alethea Jones will show her debut feature, the comedy Fun Mom Dinner, starring Toni Collette and Bridget Everett.
A virtual reality film shot inside Manus Island detention centre, Inside Manus, will have its world premiere as part of MIFF's VR line-up, and actress Melissa George will attend the festival for the world premiere of her new film, The Butterfly Tree, supported my MIFF's Premiere Fund.
And we'll finally be able to see homegrown star Danielle Macdonald in her breakthrough performance as an American teen rapper in Patti Cake$, which has already wowed audiences at Cannes and Sundance.
Carey said there was "quite an incredible line-up direct from Cannes" in this year's program, including the Palme d'Or winning The Square and the Jury Prize-winning Loveless.
Other highlights include Yorgos Lanthimos' The Killing of a Sacred Deer, starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman; Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck, starring Julianne Moore; Terrence Malick's Song to Song, a romance set amid the music scene in Austin, Texas starring Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman; and Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name.
Special programs include a Sally Potter retrospective; a series on "pioneering women" featuring films from female Australian directors from the 1980s and early 1990s; a screening of Disney's original 1992 animated version of Aladdin; and, for the first time, a science fiction program.
The 2017 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from August 3-20. Full program details miff.com.au.
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