Not sure what to watch at MIFF 2026? Our Screen & Media lecturers and students share the titles topping their watchlist this year.
Every August, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) turns the city into one giant cinema. For anyone studying screen and media, MIFF is a working masterclass. You get to see what independent, boundary-pushing storytelling actually looks like, straight from the people making it.
We’re proud to be partnering with MIFF once again this year to bring our students closer to the action, and to present the MIFF Schools Youth Jury Award, which awards $10,000 to a film selected from the MIFF Schools program by three young filmmakers from the 2026 Top Screen class.
With so many titles in the program, working out which films to prioritise can feel overwhelming. So, we asked some of our Screen & Media lecturers and students, several of whom have worked on films screening this year, to share what's on their MIFF 2026 watchlist and why.
Consider this your shortcut to some of the best MIFF films on offer, picked by the very people who watch films for a living, and are training the next generation to do the same.
Documentaries Worth the Hype
Collarts Screen & Media student Jasper Carbone is heading straight for the documentary slate at MIFF 2026. "I'm really excited about the documentary selection this year! So far I'm seeing The History of Concrete because the premise sounds ridiculous, and The Tale of Silyan because I'm a sucker for human-befriends-animal stories."
They're not obvious picks, but that's exactly why they're on Jasper's list. Sometimes the best documentaries are the ones that make you curious about a subject you'd never have picked up on your own, whether that be a doco-comedy about concrete, or a poignant story about a man, a stork, and the changing world around him.
First Nations Stories Taking Centre Stage
Lecturer Josh Stafield points to Sovereign Shorts, a collection of four short documentaries all from Victoria-based First Peoples writers and directors. Josh served as cinematographer on one of the shorts, Queens to the Front, and highly recommends checking out all four documentaries, which "explore themes of Treaty through lived experiences and unique voices."
Dark Comedy and the Beautifully Off-Kilter
If your taste runs towards films that are a little strange and a lot funny, lecturer Helen Turton has you covered. “As a big fan of off-kilter films and dark comedy, I'm most looking forward to The Fox, The Incomer, Chili Finger and WTF Shorts" she says.
It's a solid lineup if you want a night of laughing while also feeling slightly on edge. Dark comedy is a hard tone to pull off, and with a shorts anthology in the mix alongside three features, there's a good range of ways different filmmakers are tackling it this year.
Homegrown Talent and Local Shorts to Watch
Student Edvard Christie is keeping things close to home this year. "I'm looking forward to seeing the Australian Shorts program, as well as the projects featured at [MIFF 37°South Market] while volunteering. The director of Hard As Puck also came into our documentary class this week, so I've booked a ticket to that too!"
It says a lot about the industry links built into the course: Collarts students aren't just watching these films, they're hearing directly from the people behind them and getting to network right from the get go.
A Drama About Filmmaking Itself
For something heavier, Screen & Media lecturer, director, and cinematographer Stu Mannion recommends The Beloved. In his words, it's "an intense drama about the psychological cost of filmmaking that deconstructs any romantic notions we might have about what happens on a film set, featuring a very scary performance from Javier Bardem."
Don't go in expecting an easy watch, but it's a good one for anyone curious about the less glamorous side of filmmaking.
Where the Classroom Meets the Screen
Melbourne International Film Festival 2026 runs from 6-23 August with an absolutely stacked program (although hopefully your decision-making has been made a touch easier with these recommendations).
For the Collarts Screen & Media community, MIFF isn't only something we watch from the audience. Josh has work screening in this year's program, Edvard volunteered at 37°South Market, and there's a good chance more of our staff and students turn up in the credits or behind the scenes as the festival goes on.
If you're after a course where the industry around you is this close, actively in the room rather than just referenced in a lecture, explore our Screen & Media courses and see how close you could get to the action.