MIFF

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‘I will pay my debts’: A delighted Simon Mesa has won the $140,000 Bright Horizons prize at MIFF.

‘A film about the worst version of myself’ wins massive cash prize

MIFF’s Bright Horizons prize, worth $140,000, has gone to a sardonic Colombian comedy about a washed-up poet.

  • Karl Quinn

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The Age, news.Business. These young people are the subjects of a new movie - Spreadsheet Champions - and competed in the recent Microsoft Excel world championships. The film is appearing at the upcoming Melbourne International Film Festival.Left to right. 1. Carmina Solares,Yvan De La Paix,Alkmini Gaitantzi and
.Mason Brainthwaite,Pic Simon Schluter 8 August 2025

Excelling at Excel: The spreadsheet world cup is anything but boring

Forget slam dunks, penalty shootouts or gold medals. The most nerve-racking competition you’ve never heard of involves cells, formulas and pivot tables.

  • David Swan
Sigourney Waver as Ripley in Alien and Col Needham, the founder of the website IMDb.

He watched Alien 14 times in a row, then gave birth to an internet monster

Col Needham first tracked movie credits in a paper notebook in 1981. Now his IMDb is the go-to site for film and TV fans around the world – and worth a fortune.

  • Karl Quinn
Women have long played a pivotal role in horror cinema, so why do we know so little about them?

Think horror is a man’s world? This documentary will scare you straight

1000 Women in Horror sheds light on the many women who have helped keep the genre alive, proving once and for all that some women were made to spook.

  • Nell Geraets
Isobel Knowles, left, and Van Sowerwine with props for their VR work The World Came Flooding In.

Imagine your house under water. This VR film takes us inside the flood

The World Came Flooding In brings three personal stories of climate calamity to life.

  • Simmone Howell
Emily Browning at the MIFF Festival Hub at ACMI, August 11, 2025.

How actress Emily Browning learnt to embrace the funny side of failure

Lemony Snickett made her a dramatic star in her teens. Now in her 30s, the Melbourne-born actress is finally up for a laugh.

  • Karl Quinn
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Luciana and Mario Martini are determined to stay in their home in North Fitzroy as they get older.

Luciana and Mario want to dance into old age at home and avoid aged care

A new documentary is exploring the complicated issue of ageing and the determination of some people to continue living independently.

  • Cara Waters
Barry Cooper, the former Texas policeman whose story is told in Never Get Busted.

Two people claim to have directed this movie. Can they both be right?

Never Get Busted is a riveting documentary about a drug cop who breaks bad (or good). But it is also the subject of a fierce legal battle – about who even made it.

  • Karl Quinn
Rose Byrne won the Silver Bear for best lead performance at the Berlin International Film Festival in February for her performance.

All the rage: The shocking new Rose Byrne film that tackles the mother load

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, the opening-night film at MIFF, will set tongues wagging with its depiction of female rage – which is just as its maker intended.

  • Karl Quinn

MIFF made easy: 15 films that should be on your viewing list

Our movie experts select the highlights of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.

  • Jake Wilson and Stephanie Bunbury