Bendigo Fine Music fundraiser. The enchanting new comedy of manners from acclaimed writer/director Grégory Magne (whose debut 'Perfumes' was a sleeper success in 2019), THE MUSICIANS stars Valérie Donzelli as a wealthy heiress whose plan to stage a landmark concert is derailed by the clashing egos of the virtuosos recruited for the performance. Astrid Thompson (Donzelli) is determined to honour her late industrialist father’s final wish: unite four priceless Stradivarius-stringed instruments for the premiere recital of a new composition by his favourite artist, to be live-streamed for music lovers globally. With just six days to rehearse, a quartet is assembled, but the dream quickly unravels: the musicians are at odds, blinded by their differences and prejudices, and seemingly incapable of working together. With the deadline fast approaching, Astrid tries to coax the reclusive composer of the score, Charlie Beaumont (Frédéric Pierrot), out from creative seclusion in the desperate hope of salvaging the event… As the film crescendos to a tender, exhilarating finale where harmony is found not only in music but human connection, THE MUSICIANS celebrates both the chaos and beauty of collaboration. Set amidst the villas, vineyards and chapels of the stunning Champagne region, with an exquisite original score by Grégoire Hetzel, this is sparkling entertainment for the heart (and ears).

Bendigo Foodshare fundraiser. A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.

Bendigo Open Studios fundraiser. A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.

A middle-aged couple who are feeling stagnant in their relationship invite the younger and livelier couple from the apartment upstairs for a get-together that takes an unexpected turn.

A triumph! A spectacle! A fuzzy wuzzy cuddle puddle! The world's #1 cat-themed movie is back this August - fur a limited time only in cinemas! CatVideoFest is a joyous cinema experience for all ages featuring the latest and best cat videos from around the world. It’s also the feel-good event of the year, as a percentage of every ticket sold supports animal rescue organisations. People love cat videos, and they love coming together. CatVideoFest is committed to bringing feline happiness to the big screen, while giving back to the community of people working to help cats in need.

A rescue crew investigates a spaceship that disappeared into a black hole and has now returned… with someone or something new on-board.

In 1970s New Zealand, young Brian is devastated by the loss of his mother and determined to stop his dad from marrying the woman he sees as her replacement. Convinced he can reach his mother through prayer and penance, Brian finds refuge at a run-down convent with three delightfully eccentric elderly nuns. But when he overhears plans to shut the convent down and split the sisters apart, sending the most vulnerable to a terrifying institution, Brian sparks an unlikely mission: escape to the Southern Alps to find a former nun-turned-lawyer who might just save them all. For Brian, it’s more than a legal battle—he believes this is the miracle he’s been praying for, a chance to reunite with his mother atop the sacred mountain, Aoraki. What follows is a wild, hilarious, and heartwarming road trip as a boy and three nuns face down their fears, outwit crooked officials, lose a sister to fishmongers, and even cash a bet shop win, all while racing against time to save their beloved convent. With its soul firmly planted in faith, family, and fierce loyalty, Holy Days is a joyful comedy packed with heart, humour, and high-speed hijinks. It’s a story about letting go, holding on, and finding home in the most unexpected places.

From the director of `Boy` and `What We Do In the Shadows`, Taika Waititi’s new film is a hilarious and heartfelt adventure based on Barry Crump`s novel, ‘Wild Pork & Watercress`. Ricky (Julian Dennison) is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his grumpy foster uncle (Sam Neill). A national manhunt ensues and the two are forced to work together to survive.

A middle-aged couple who are feeling stagnant in their relationship invite the younger and livelier couple from the apartment upstairs for a get-together that takes an unexpected turn.

A top-notch cast led by Bill Skarsgård and Dacre Montgomery play out a hair-raising real-life 1970s hostage situation in this comedic thriller from Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, My Own Private Idaho) All Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) wants is debt forgiveness, an apology and five million dollars. In February 1977, Indiana property developer Tony Kiritsis tied a shotgun trigger wire around the neck of mortgage broker Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery, Stranger Things). Claiming to have been betrayed in a land deal, Kiritsis held Hall hostage in his grungy apartment while a media circus formed outside. Interrogating social and economic issues that are even more relevant and corrosive today, this unintentionally hilarious thriller stars an electrifying Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu) as the suddenly famous little guy who feels his American Dream has been stolen by morally bankrupt elites. Al Pacino brings the spirit of his American Spectacle hostage classic Dog Day Afternoon with him in a memorable role as Hall’s calculating father. With an authentic 70's feel and a perfectly curated soundtrack, this larger-than-life true story will have you instantly hooked and won't let go until the credits have finished rolling.

As Ecuador erupts in protest, the custodian of a threatened way of life contemplates the future of his family line and his people. In a village deep in the Amazon jungle, Indigenous shaman Rafael Santi practises the sacred customs of his ancestors. As this community elder approaches the end of his life, he hopes to pass his mantle on to his teenage grandson, a devoted student who is nonetheless torn between this heavy responsibility and the opportunities offered by Western education. What’s at stake here is more than just one community’s future, however: this crisis of succession occurs against the backdrop of rising economic pressures and a steady incursion of mining and oil corporations into the Amazon, granted a green light by Ecuador’s pro-market government. As the nation’s Indigenous peoples launch a countrywide protest that takes them to the streets of Quito and into violent conflict with armed forces, Santi uses the traditional medicine of ayahuasca to seek answers from the spirit world. Australian filmmaker Dan Jackson spent over a decade developing connections with the Indigenous communities of Amazanga to tell this intimate story of one man, his family and an age-old struggle – one that echoes around the world, including here in Australia – between postcolonial states and the peoples they displaced but haven’t defeated. Presenting raw recordings of protest alongside stunning photography of the jungle landscape, archival footage of generations past and vivid depictions of hallucinogenic experience, this MIFF Premiere Fund–supported documentary takes us on a journey deep into the fault lines of our modern world and out into the realm beyond.

Amid the breathtaking vistas of the Kimberley, a groundbreaking equine sanctuary helps First Nations teenagers discover reconnection and healing. The natural beauty of Western Australia’s Kimberley region hides a shocking truth: the youth suicide rate in this remote part of the country is among the highest in the world. Pioneering Aboriginal researcher Professor Juli Coffin is seeking to change that with a unique program that pairs young people with horses, offering a culturally safe sanctuary in which they navigate their paths to adulthood, forming life-changing bonds along the way. Director Sean O’Reilly works closely with Coffin – whose own life was once saved by a horse – to document their remarkable journeys. Executive-produced by Hunter Page-Lochard, Huna Amweero, Daniel Gordon, Mark Coles Smith and Stephen Page, O’Reilly’s documentary combines observational footage with first-person testimony, set against the stunningly cinematic backdrop of some of Australia’s most majestic landscapes. Full of charm, joy and gentle humour, Guided by Horses is an engaging reminder of where we can turn to for our inner spirit to be ignited.

An amazingly courageous hen is the star of this beguiling survival drama by György Pálfi - Somebody get this chicken an Oscar! An animal protagonist to rank alongside the heroes of Red Dog and Babe, Hen begins life as a black-feathered outcast in an ocean of golden chicks bound for slaughter. Capturing the personality of this creature with a skill that makes us feel like we know exactly what she is thinking, Pálfi charts the funny adventures and hair-raising escapes that lead her to a run-down taverna on the Greek coast. But this is anything but a straightforward ‘animal picture’. As the humans around Hen come into focus, Pálfi delivers a sobering study in human nature and a provocative commentary on burning social and political issues. Made without CGI, animatronics or AI, Hen is technically brilliant and boldly innovative.

From charttopper to tabloid fodder and back again, the legendary British rock balladeer Marianne Faithfull reflects candidly on her storied past Plucked from obscurity by the manager ofT he Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull had her first hit in 1964 with ‘As Tears Go By’. She was 17. It would be a monumental careerspanning six decades, punctuated by both high-profile love affairs and highly publicised struggles with drug abuse, anorexia and homelessness. But, for all its wealth of archival materials, Broken English is no conventional rock doc. Here, in a playful but sincere twist, the husky-voiced chanteuse is interviewed by a record keeper at the fictional Ministry of Not Forgetting – a bureaucratic institution overseen by none other than Tilda Swinton – while luminaries such as Courtney Love and Beth Orton chime in with their own reflections. Directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard have specialised in immersive, form-defying documentaries built around musicians, from Nick Cave in 20,000 Days on Earth to Emiliana Torrini in The Extraordinary Miss Flower. This inventive portrait of a legendary singer-songwriter is suffused with a particular, unanticipated pathos: Faithfull died in January 2025 while the film was still in production, making the footage within her final recorded performance.

An offbeat Aussie crowd pleaser following the world’s greatest whistling competition, from the eccentric competitors to passionate devotees, as egos clash and notes soar. Unsurprisingly, whistling as a competitive sport attracts an eccentric crowd – among them an anxious New York actress, a fiercely ambitious Spanish competitor, a perpetual runner-up Japanese muso and a piping pop star. Wrangling this multifarious mob, is ‘Whistling Diva’ producer Carole Anne Kaufman, a contentious figure, who’s on a mission to elevate the artform and the competition. Directed by Christopher Nelius, this highly entertaining documentary in the tradition of Best in Show and The Golden Spurtle (MIFF 2025) celebrates persistence and lip-pursing talent as it captures the highs and lows of competitive musical whistling.

After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director (Hannah Einbinder, Hacks) for resurrection. But when she visits the original movie’s star (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files, Sex Education), a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.

Let the good times ROLL! The screening sensation known as The Big Bike Film Night is riding into town with your bike films fix for '26!!! What's it all about??? They’re on a mission- bringing the best cycling short films from around the world together for you. This film fest is unashamedly and utterly, utterly, utterly designed and devised to delight the two-wheel devotee! Showcasing 2.5 hours of dazzling bike films that have everything a cycle-centric audience could want - action, drama, humour, and plenty of inspiration, they're going to spin your wheels, crank your dial, and ring your bell! These short films are a great reminder of why we love to ride our bike. All celebrate the fun, the adventure, and the joy that cycling enables. So...listen to the voice inside you; it’s telling you to go. Grab your mates, GO ON… grab your bike and come along for the ride!! WIN A TRIP TO NEW ZEALAND* Purchase a ticket to any Australian screening, and thanks to our presenting partner, Ngā Haerenga Great Rides of New Zealand, , you could win a 5-day, all-inclusive Great Rides cycling holiday in New Zealand's South Island for two! Courtesy of Adventure South, the prize includes: Four-night/five-day trip on the best trails across in the South Island's Central Otago region. Standard bike hire included (e-bike upgrade available at additional cost). T’s and C’s apply*. Up to NZ $2000 worth of trans-Tasman flights flying from a major port (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, or Perth) to Queenstown return. You must keep proof of your ticket purchase in the event you are drawn as the winner — one entry per person. ATTENDEE’S COMMENTS: "Inspiring | Breathtaking | Heartwarming | Quirky | Bonkers | Funny as F##k“ “The Big Bike Film Night is always a wonderful, eclectic, wacky mix of films and I love it!” “If you haven’t experienced the cinematic excellence of The Big Bike Film Night – then YOU MUST!!!”

A runaway teenage orphan Jeanne (the sublime Clara Pacini in her feature debut) finds refuge inside a film studio where The Snow Queen is being shot. There, she becomes drawn into the orbit of Cristina (played by the transcendent Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard), the production’s enigmatic and emotionally fragile star. As the two form a bond, a mutual and sinister fascination takes hold. A darkly beautiful reworking of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale, The Ice Tower is a richly textured meditation on longing, isolation, and desire. The film premiered in competition at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.

Christopher Nolan’s next film, The Odyssey, is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX® film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX® film screens for the first time and opens in cinemas everywhere on July 16, 2026. The Odyssey stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong’o, with Zendaya and Charlize Theron. The Odyssey is produced by Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan for their company, Syncopy. The executive producer is Thomas Hayslip.