Recently I attended the 2026 Melbourne International Film Festival, which ran from 6-23 August. It was the first time in several years that I’ve been a Festival Passport Holder. (If memory serves me correctly, the last time was in 2019)
Pictured 1-3 from top:
The Capitol Theatre, Melbourne
Kino Cinema, Melbourne
The Astor Cinema, Prahran
Seven years and two bouts of breast cancer later, I wasn’t entirely convinced I was up to it anymore, and numerous times in the lead-up to MIFF 2026, nearly downgraded to a mini-pass. By the time I’d finished dithering around, it was too late. At that stage all I could do - aside from flushing $700 down the drain - was to go for it.
The MIFF Box Office staff at ACMI, where I booked the majority of my seats, couldn’t have been more kind, helpful and understanding. The neuropathy in my feet (a permanent after-effect of the BC) has to some extent undercut my sense of balance. In every case, they were able to reserve me ideally located seats, so I never once felt in danger of taking an undignified tumble.
My energy levels have risen considerably over the past few months. Nevertheless, I limited my sessions to times that mainly finished in the early evening. By the time I’d added and subtracted a few films along the way, at last count, I saw 41.
The Māori Victorian gothic horror film Mārama was another festival
favourite. Lead cast member Ariāna Osborne, who gave a
performance of astonishing power, was a guest of the festival.
She is pictured here during the post-screening Q&A.
It took a few days to get into the rhythm of MIFF. By the festival’s end I felt quite elated. Not only did I get through it with relative ease, which did wonders for my confidence, but for me it was also the finest MIFF in years - even better than that magic time in 2019, or in 2024, when, as a mini-pass holder, I first saw Flow.
Knowing that MIFF would present a huge disruption to my work flow, I roughed out four more paintings in the Flowers of the Femmes Fatales series so I could also maintain that particular rhythm. I knew from experience it would be far easier to pick up where I left off post-MIFF if I wasn’t faced with a proverbial white canvas.
In the end, I concentrated most of my energies on two out of the four. As of today, they are pretty much done. Above and below are a series of progress views of the provisionally titled works Girls Who Wear Glasses.
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In the next few weeks (or however long it takes), I’ll work towards resolving the remaining two.
A few people have asked me if I gleaned inspiration from any of this year’s MIFF films. It will take awhile longer to process all that I saw, but even at this early stage, the answer is yes. The seed of an idea is already sprouting from the documentary Kim Novak’s Vertigo. The seed took further root from the post-screening Q&A with its director, Alexandre O. Philippe (pictured below). I will elaborate on this in a future post - providing I can move the idea from my head, knock it into some kind of shape and transfer it to canvas.
I’ve also been asked if I have a favourite MIFF film. There were several, but the one that most deeply touched my heart was the documentary The Cycle of Love.
Thank you, MIFF and goodbye - until next year.
