MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2022

The 70th Melbourne International Film Festival is officially underway! With 257 feature films to choose from, it can be a challenge - but the SWITCH team has been trawling this year's line-up to check out the best of the offerings. Check them out below - and keep an eye on this page, as we'll be updating it regularly throughout the festival!

MIFF 70 IS HERE!

Our top picks for the 70th Melbourne International Film Festival

So the Melbourne International Film Festival program dropped and you're desperately trying to whittle it down to the films you can make between working, eating and sleeping. Never fear - Ashley was at the line-up launch event, and has distilled the list to her must-see highlights!

YUNI

A heartbreaking and honest Indonesian coming-of-age story

Coming-of-age films are an age-old genre, and it is difficult at times to balance the melodrama of youth with honesty and realism. 'Yuni' walks this line beautifully, while capturing and commentating on many themes without being performative.

HIDE AND SEEK

Much more than a game in the back streets of Naples

Naples' Spanish Quarter is a tinderbox, and the questionable political approach being used to address it is only fanning the situation further. Until that approach changes, the future of so many children stuck in the situation remains uncertain.

LONESOME

Small-town boy in a big arcade

A beautiful film where a gay love story unfolds and doesn’t hide those moments that might make it seem too much. It's subtle, heartbreaking and raw and, for fans of queer Australian cinema, is not to be missed.

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

Beauty behind the (mutilation) madness

It can be quite disturbing, but there is a tender core to be respected and relished - it's an experience far more hopeful than the nihilistic ways in which the film’s characters use their bodies.

TRIANGLE OF SADNESS

A cruise through shallow waters

For all its shortcomings, 'Triangle of Sadness' is an entertaining dive into the lives of the rich and the famous, even if the dive is as shallow as its characters are made out to be. Thank goodness the laughs make it worth it.

THE HUMANS

Family is the true horror in this handsome stage-to-screen adaptation

This may be a family drama masquerading as a horror film, but few recent horror films hit you in the guts quite like this, have you cringing in fear at the inevitability of this family falling apart.

BROKER

Chosen family

Despite being far from his best, 'Broker' proves that even a middling Hirokazu Kore-eda project is still leagues above other director's batting averages.

SPEAK NO EVIL

The holiday from hell

This plays directly into the horror tropes it holds in contempt, and takes it out on its audience in the nastiest (and best) way possible.

SERIOUSLY RED

This Dolly Parton impersonation film is not a way to make a living

It offers an engaging idea but often gets lost in its narrative, going for humour over heart.

DUAL

High concept, high laughs

It's clear that it has plenty of fantastic ideas it wants to explore, but it just doesn't seem to know what these are or how to get there. Despite this, Gillan's performances make 'Dual' a worthy and entertaining way to spend an evening.

FLUX GOURMET

A delicious mix of the strange and hilarious

Like his other films, the visuals, the costumes, the set decoration, the swirling colours, lush cinematography and the soundtrack are stunning. If you have a taste for something a little different, 'Flux Gourmet' is the perfect gateway into the oeuvre of a very unique filmmaker.

BRIAN AND CHARLES

The perfect companion to fill that robot-shaped hole in your life

Full of heart, warmth and laughter, it feels like a hidden gem before it's even hit the screens. With an intimate atmosphere and quirky characters, it seems at times like this film was made specifically for you to have a good time.

UTAMA

Holding onto hope at the end of the world

This is a difficult film to shake off. It would have been enough to see such a powerful portrait of our planet in its death throes, but it is made all the more potent by its innumerable flashes of beauty and magic.

FUNNY PAGES

A phenomenally grimy, goofy debut

One of the most refreshingly comical (pun unintended) and authentic coming-of-age films of the last few years. Owen Kline proves himself to be a talent completely on his own merits.

RODEO

Portrait of a bikie on fire

There's a great film in here somewhere, and Lola Quivoron tries her hardest to race away with her audience's hearts, but 'Rodeo' is at times too half-baked to pull off all of its tricks.

BODIES BODIES BODIES

A bloody slog through internet satire

It's a film that is hiding a worthy and interesting sadness under its satire that is as trapped as David and his guests.

NAVALNY

A timely and terrifying political documentary

Daniel Roher has hit the jackpot with 'Navalny', a documentary so meticulously well-timed to capture an integral moment in political history it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event.

ON THE COUNT OF THREE

A dark comedy that stares down the barrel

There are two sides to the coin, and while this is really a well-balanced in tragedy and comedy, there is no denying the haunting theme that can be triggering and devastatingly real.

CHILDREN OF THE MIST

The horrifying tradition of bride kidnapping

The film drives home the harrowingly unglamorous reality of young women in traditional communities governed by the patriarchy with an iron grip. Diem Ha Le has created a brilliant debut feature film with her empathetic and courageous touch.