MIFF returns for 2021

This year, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is celebrating its 69th edition. With 283 international and Australian films, MIFF includes 40 world premieres – the most in the festival’s history.

The festival will be featuring COVID-safe screenings throughout Victoria, and MIFF Play will also be streaming films into households during the festival, which runs from August 5-22.

“This year, MIFF continues to evolve to meet the moment and to meet audiences where they are,” said MIFF artistic director Al Cossar.
“What will not change is the extraordinary line-up of cinematic adventures, from home and afar, waiting for them.”

Included in this year’s festival are several films with Jewish or Israeli themes.

A still from Babi Yar. Context

Babi Yar. Context

Babi Yar. Context tells the story of one of the Holocaust’s largest single atrocities – the murder of tens of thousands of Jews who were buried in Kiev’s Babi Yar ravine. Using extraordinary footage of Kiev during World War II, as well as witness testimonies and the trials of perpetrators, the documentary takes viewers through the cover-up of the mass murder.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

American celebrity chef, author and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain, whose mother was Jewish, spent a lot of his adult life travelling and eating his way around the world. Tragically, in 2018, he died by suicide. Roadrunner tells Bourdain’s story through insightful interviews with those who knew him best.

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful

Helmut Newton is often referred to as a “controversial fashion icon”. But, as this documentary claims, Newton was heavily influenced by his turbulent background, fleeing Nazi Germany. Using behind-the-scenes footage from many of Newton’s photoshoots, the documentary pulls back the curtain on the photographer and his work.

Evolution

Evolution, which was part of the newly-launched Cannes Premiere program, is told in three parts across three generations spanning World War II to modern day. It analyses trauma and the power the past can wield over the present.

Let it be Morning

Sami who travels with his family to attend his brother’s wedding, is stopped by Israeli soldiers on his way home and made to return to the village where he grew up, around which an army blockade has formed. The family become stuck as the village is cut off from the world. Adapted from the 2006 novel of the same name, Let it be Morning looks at the tense situation around land, Palestinian displacement and security.

MIFF is held from August 5-22. Bookings: miff.com.au