DARWIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2019

The Darwin International Film Festival is the Northern Territory’s pre­mier Inter­na­tion­al Film Fes­ti­val. It active­ly sup­ports the growth of our region’s film tal­ent by pro­vid­ing avenues from grass-root ini­tia­tives to red car­pet events in the stun­ning trop­i­cal set­ting of its main venue, the Deckchair Cin­e­ma.

With DIFF enter­ing its 10th edi­tion, this year's festival features the best on the big screen for the Top End along with high-pro­file vis­it­ing guests.

The SWITCH team has trawled through the DIFF fesitval line-up for the year. Take a look through our reviews below, and check back regularly as more films are added!

IN FABRIC

The best worst film ever?

Filled with oodles of style, colour and imagination, there is a wonderful retro feel with nostalgic and a mysterious spookiness for those so inclined.

ANIMALS

Hedonistic female friendship and the art of growing up

Gritty but not too gritty, the film voyeuristically observes the modern right of passage of identity, resilience and the hard choices we have to make.

JUDY & PUNCH

A dark fairytale from a fresh Australian voice

Part fairytale and part black comedy, the film is a period story with a message that’s vital to current society. Writer and director Mirrah Foulkes is an exciting young Australian storyteller.

TITO AND THE BIRDS

A flight of imagination

With a script that is as richly textured as the artwork, ‘Tito and the Birds’ is a moving and human story that boasts a big heart and reminds us that we aren’t alone in the troubles we face.

MONOS

A hypnagogic mix of teen angst and warfare

This film is a mood, an aesthetic, an idea; a sensory cinematic experience more than a story.

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

A perfect film on the language of desire

This is a rare and precious film, breathtaking in its craft and intensely honest in its passions, and one of the best films of this or any year. This is great, great cinema.

ANGEL OF MINE

Less than heavenly

There are some interesting moments and solid performances, but more often than not, the film simply doesn’t deliver as a viscerally unsettling thriller, tense psychodrama or even as a soap opera.

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

Art and technology meet in a dream-like film noir

The protagonist’s myth-like search into his physical and metaphysical past is a feat of filmmaking that's as impressive as it is vital, where dream and fantasy and longing flow together.