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MIAF 2025 submissions open

The Melbourne International Animation Festival is back.

MIAF 2024 Winners
MIAF 2024 Festival Guide

The basics

What: A week of the best new animation from around the world.

When: 5 – 12 May 2024.

Where: Treasury Theatre, Melbourne and The Backlot Studios, South Melbourne

Tickets: Ranging from individual ticket $19/$16 to full Festival Pass $125/$100.

Program: 29 curated sessions

What

MIAF (Melbourne International Animation Festival) is a full week-long animation film festival. See the best new films from Australia and around the world.

Since 2001, MIAF has showcased the art of animation at its most eclectic and inspired, transcending expectations, and doing it all on the unbeatable big screen. The 140+ works on display were curated from 2000 submissions. They feature contemporary and retrospective pieces from emerging and established talent.

Animation requires artistry, imagination, and technical skill. It captivates and transports. See through the eyes of the world’s most creative animators with MIAF.

MIAF 2024, your week of BIG screen animation.

Schedule

Sunday 5 May @ Treasury Theatre

5:30        Australian Student Showcase
7:30        Australian Showcase – Official Opening

Monday 6 May @ The Backlot Studios

5:45        Meet The Filmmaker: Costas Lambrou
              Anatomy of the MIAF Opening Film “As Above, Do Not Know”
6:45       International Competition Program #1
8:15        Nukufilm Catch-Up: The Best New Nuku Films

Tuesday 7 May @ The Backlot Studios

5:45        Meet The Filmmaker: Brick Maths
              Animators, Don’t Try This At Home
6:45        International Competition Program #2
8:15        Abstract Showcase

Wednesday 8 May @ The Backlot Studios

5:45        Meet The Filmmaker: Studio Showoff
              Studio Showoff & The Making of “American Sikh”
6:45        International Competition Program #3
8:15        Black & White Showcase

Thursday 9 May @ The Backlot Studios

5:45        Meet The Filmmaker: Lachlan Plain
              The Hand Built Alternative Realities of Lachlan Plain
6:45        International Competition Program #4
8:15        The Long & Strange Of It All

Friday 10 May @ The Backlot Studios

5:45        Meet The Filmmaker: Sander Joon
              The Strange & Wonderful Worlds of Sander Joon
6:45        International Competition Program #5
8:15        Slide – Bill Plympton

Saturday 11 May @ The Backlot Studios

3:00        EKA Showcase
4:30        One Of A Kind: Tribute To Antoinette Starkiewicz
6:00        Animated Documentaries

Saturday 11 May @ Treasury Theatre

4:00        International Competition Program #1 – REPEAT
5:30        International Competition Program #2 – REPEAT
7:00        International Competition Program #3 – REPEAT
8:45        Late Night Bizarre (18+)

Sunday 12 May @ Treasury Theatre

2:30        International Competition Program #4 – REPEAT
4:00        International Competition Program #5 – REPEAT
5:30        Australian Animation In A Time Of A.I.
7:00        Best Of The Fest (18+)
8:45        Best Of The Fest (18+) – REPEAT

Where

The big opening and closing weekends will happen at the Treasury Theatre. We love coming to the Treasury; the nice big screen, comfy seats and a cool bar right there on the premises! Good times, fun crowds and great animated energy.

Easy to get to, just a three minute walk from Parliament train station.

On weeknights the festival will be at The Backlot Studios in South Melbourne. We’re excited to be taking MIAF to this cosy space. Expect a diverse range of International Competition as well as themed programs with an extra emphasis on “Meet The Filmmaker” sessions. And Backlot has the perfect festival bar –  a great space to hang out before and after every screening.

Only 15-20 minutes by tram from the city. Jump on a #1 or #12 tram line, they run every 10 mins.

Very limited seating, just 44 seats. Don’t miss out.

Please note that Backlot is NOT fully accessible. There are stairs with handrails, but no lift to the second floor where the cinema is located.

Tickets

Please note. We are not set up to sell tickets in person. Please buy your tickets online prior to the session.

Individual ticket go to one session.
$19 full, $16 concession.

Opening Night access to both sessions on opening night at Treasury Theatre.
SOLD OUT
$26 full, $20 concession.

BINGE Pass access to all 5 competition programs at Treasury Theatre on the closing weekend.
$48 full, $40 concession.

Treasury Pass access to everything at Treasury Theatre (opening night and the last two days).
SOLD OUT
$95 full, $70 concession.
Limited, just 40 available. Only on sale until 28 April, or if all sold out.

Festival Pass access to EVERYTHING.
SOLD OUT
$125 full, $100 concession.
VERY limited, just 20 available. Only on sale until 28 April, or if all sold out.

Program overview

Most sessions are classified Unclassified (M) Mature, not recommended for viewers under 15 years.
Some sessions are classified Unclassified (18+), restricted to people 18 years and over.

Opening Night

Nobody screens more Australian animation than MIAF. We proudly open the festival each year with the Australian Showcase which surveys the incredible artistry and skill of Australian animators. Plus we will also be screening the Australian Student Showcase with the best new animators from across the country.

This is a chance for those great local films to get some time on the big screen, where they belong. Make sure you don’t miss this chance to catch the best of home-grown films.

A fun filled night on Sunday 5 May at Treasury.

International Competition

The International Competition Programs are the backbone of the entire MIAF mission. Drawn from more than 2,000 submissions they showcase the best, most imaginative animating talent on the planet in a series of programs in which the only rule is diversity.

If you miss the first screening at The Backlot Studios during the week, come along to the repeats on the weekend at Treasury Theatre.

Themed Competition
Eternal Casket – Beta Hsu, Yun Chu, Sofya Antonova, Thore Flynn Hadre
▲ (ALT 30) – Mathis Hernoe, Alexandre Clermont, Thomas Louchet
Guilty Pleasure – Michal Orzechowski
Ask Me How I Am – Zan Barberton, Joseph Clark

There are special groups of films from our submissions that just need their own space. For that, we have four fantastic competition programs each with their own theme: Abstract Showcase, Black & White Showcase, The Long & Strange Of It All and Animated Documentaries.
Only on at Backlot.

Special Programs

We will have a selection of very special programs to be held at Backlot during the week. Expect a glorious range of topics to Meet the Filmmakers: retrospectives, looking at work in progress, examining technique & styles, and each having conversations with both new & established filmmakers.

Special Feature Presentation

Bill Plympton wrote the rule book on what it is to be a truly indie American animator. His unique style has influenced generations of animators who sought to follow in his footsteps and entertained audiences around the world. When we saw his latest feature – SIX years in the making – drop we swooped in and nabbed it and proudly place it in this closing Friday night timeslot.

Late Night Bizarre

Love your crazy content? Then you’ll love Late Night Bizarre. A dependably depraved screening of animated specimens from the wrong side of the tracks. Join us on Saturday night at Treasury for MIAF’s annual cult moment!
This session will be classified Unclassified (18+).

Australian Animation In A Time Of A.I.
Special MIAF Presentation

Nobody – NOBODY – knows for sure how the rise of A.I. will impact on Australian animation. But like a cyclone on the weather map we know it’s coming. Some doors will be opened, some closed and some, likely, blown in.

Commercial studios will look to it to help save costs and speed up production pipelines. Many independents are beginning to explore ways it can help them more fully realise their creative aspirations in an era bereft of funding. Beyond that, are there unique aesthetic possibilities that only A.I. can unleash? Whose work is training these models? Can A.I. ever really harness the most imaginative and unique properties of animation? We need to talk.

Best Of The Festival

It all comes down to this the Best Of The Fest. After all the votes, the best emerge. This is the program that screens ‘em. Always popular so get tickets early.

Then stick around after for a bit of a celebration for all things animation.

Sunday 12 May at Treasury.

Full Program

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