Melbourne Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup, Retains Hybrid Format
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Melbourne International Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 2023 edition, with “Shayda,” by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari, set as the opening title.
The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the COVID pandemic and MIFF found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition.
The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.
As well as opening the festival, “Shayda” will play in competition. The competition’s other Australian-made title was announced as “The Rooster,” from actor turned writer-director Mark Leonard Winter.International titles in competition include “Banel & Adama,” by Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, which played in competition in Cannes; “How to Have Sex,” by writer-director Molly Manning Walker, which debuted in Un Certain Regard at Cannes; “The Sweet East,” by Sean Price Williams; Sofia Alaoui’s “Animalia,” which debuted in Sundance and uses an alien invasion to comment on class, religion and gender roles in contemporary Morocco; Cannes Camera d’Or-winner “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” by Vietnam’s Pham Thien An; Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama”; Cannes Critics’ Week opener “Ama Gloria,” by France’s Marie Amachoukeli; Lila Avilés’ second film “Tótem,” which debuted in Berlin; and Giacomo Abbruzzese’s Berlin Silver Bear-winner “Disco Boy.” The winners will be decided by a jury co-headed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman (co-directors of last
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