Festival Archive 1952-2019

The MIFF online archive contains 68 past editions of the festival (1952–2019) for you to browse or search through. We hope the archive will be a resource used by festival goers, film lovers, students, historians and whoever else would like to learn more about the types of films MIFF has screened over the years, or to track the trajectory of the festival’s curatorship, its directors and its scope.

Search options currently include: ‘Festival Year’, ‘Film Title’, ‘Director’ and ‘Country’.

A big thank you to our MIFF volunteers and partners who have helped make this archive possible.

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. With over 12,000 film synopses and more than 9000 directors’ names, there may appear a few typos here and there as our database comes to terms with special characters (my, there was a huge amount of Eastern European cinema screened at the festival back in the 60s!) and other items that need manual tweaking. Similarly, sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are slowly filling these in with further research. 


MIFF1997

MIFF1997 Festival Program

Festival Program
112 feature films and 65 short films were screened from 24 July to 10 August
Full Program

Program in Focus
The first program helmed by new director, Sandra Sdraulig, saw the entire MIFF program organised into genre and topical streams. The features section was divided into International and Regional along with following sections: Young Asian Cinema, Australian, Made in Spain, Mediterranean Masterpieces. Mayhem, Magic and Maelstroms (which focused on the Japanese Animation Form Studio Ghibl) and films on jazz were also programmed. 

Filmmaker in Focus
Sergio Leone. A retrospective of his films was screened. 
{focus Sergio Leone}

Opening Night Film
Brassed Off (Mark Herman, 1997)
More

This is my first year as the executive director of the festival and I see 1997 as one of consolidation, setting the foundations in place for the years to come. It will be the first step towards a bright and expanded future for the festival.

My sights are set on 2001. Not the Stanley Kubrick film of the same name, but the year in which the Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary.

I intend this festival to be a taste of things to come: bold, challenging and stimulating, celebrating cinema in all its rich diversity. You will have the opportunity to sample the latest and the best cinema from Australia and around the world.

This year's festival includes 180 films from nearly 40 countries, providing a cinematic window into different cultures, religions, social practices, methods of storytelling and visual expression. You will be introduced to some great new talents and trends, and will get an opportunity to revisit and reevaluate the work of established directors like Sergio Leone and Theo Angelopoulos.

The spotlights - Made In Spain, Young Asian Cinema, All That lazz and Mayhem. Magic & Maelstroms - will alert you to the productions of flourishing industries. I encourage you to also catch the short film and documentary programmes, formats that are rarely given cinema exposure.

Enjoy 17 days and nights of film discussion via forums, lectures and informal talks. Meet the filmmakers, the stars, the critics, the scholars and the buffs. This is your passport to globetrotting from the comfort of your cinema seat so sit back and enjoy.

Sandra Sdraulig
Executive Director

Introduction taken from the 1997 official guide

Sandra Sdraulig

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