Every August Euraw Stories takes a break while Melbourne gets its movie fix at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). MIFF is on for the next two weeks starting today and, as always, there is something for everyone in its movie mix. Here are some films we wouldn’t want you to miss.
Mug – Poland
Polish films have been some of our favourites at Euraw Stories. Mug is bound to be a win. It won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlin and it really doesn’t need much selling. It’s about metalhead construction worker Jackek, who is at work building the tallest statue of Jesus (inspired by the real-life Jesus monument in Swiebodzin). After a fall, Jacek becomes Poland’s first face transplant recipient and the country is not quite ready for it. Read more and buy your ticket here.
Scary Mother – Georgia
Ana Urushadze is billed to be the new talent to watch in Georgian filmmaking. Scary mother won her the Best First Feature at Locarno and it’s a beautifully shot and ambitious film who has Manana, a fifty-year old woman in a communist-era apartment, at its centre. Manana makes decisions that break with conservative society rules and leave her family enraged. The film gets more and more surrealist and it progresses, so if you’re an adventurous cinephile, this one’s for you. Read more and buy your ticket.
Chris the Swiss – Croatia
This animated feature tells the story surrounding the death of the filmmaker’s cousin, a Swiss reporter whose body was found in Croatia during the Yugoslav wars, wearing the uniform of an international mercenary group. Director and animator Anja Kofmel uses private notebooks and radio reports to investigate the events surrounding the death. A beautiful animated elegy of war reporting. Read more and buy your ticket.
Donbass – Ukraine
This is a must see for anyone if you want to get a glimpse Ukraine during recent years. Donbass won the prestigious Un Certain Regard for Bets Director at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. With black humour and skillful social commentary, Sergei Loznitsa paints a picture through vignettes. Read more and buy your ticket.
The dead nation – Romania
Director Radu Jude raises the mirror at Romania’s history of fascism and brutality during WWII. He uses images recently discovered by photographer Costica Acsinte, and audio from the diaries of Jewish doctor Emil Dorian. Read more and buy your ticket.
Enjoy your MIFF international film oddysey and we’ll see you in September, when we’re screening Easy.