The Melbourne International Animation Festival 2025.
Our 25th anniversary! WOW 🤯🥳
The basics
What: A week of the best new animation from around the world.
When: 18 – 25 May 2025.
+ Program Launch Party 3 April 2025.
Where: Treasury Theatre, Melbourne and The Backlot Studios, South Melbourne.
Tickets: Ranging from individual ticket $20/$17 to full Festival Pass $140/$115.
Program: 32 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 over 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 2025, your week of BIG screen animation.
Schedule
Thursday 3 April @ Studio Showoff
Sunday 18 May @ Treasury Theatre
| 5:30 PM | Australian Student Showcase |
| 7:30 PM | Australian Showcase – Official Opening . |
Monday 19 May @ The Backlot Studios
| 5:45 PM | Meet The Filmmaker #1: |
| 6:45 PM | International Competition Program #1: Masters & Returnees |
| 8:15 PM | International Competition Program #6: Character Study Drill Down |
Tuesday 20 May @ The Backlot Studios
| 5:45 PM | Meet The Filmmaker #2: |
| 6:45 PM | International Competition Program #2: Digital Extremes |
| 8:15 PM | International Competition Program #7: Abstract Showcase |
Wednesday 21 May @ The Backlot Studios
| 5:45 PM | Meet The Filmmaker #3: |
| 6:45 PM | International Competition Program #3: Hi-Fi Design |
| 8:15 PM | International Competition Program #8: Shar Studio Spotlight |
Thursday 22 May @ The Backlot Studios
| 5:45 PM | Meet The Filmmaker #4: |
| 6:45 PM | International Competition Program #4: Hi Estonia & A Bonobo Shout-Out |
| 8:15 PM | Pannonia Film Studio – Some Kind Of Wonderful |
Friday 23 May @ The Backlot Studios
| 5:45 PM | Meet The Filmmaker #5: |
| 6:45 PM | International Competition Program #5: It’s Meta Time |
| 8:15 PM | International Competition Program #9: The Friday Freaks Parade |
Saturday 24 May @ The Backlot Studios
International Student Animation Festival
| Screenings | Talks | |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 PM | Student Competition Program #1 | Student Fest Conversation #1: |
| 1:45 PM | Student Competition Program #2 | Student Fest Conversation #2: |
| 2:30 PM | Student Competition Program #3 | Student Fest Conversation #3: |
| 3:15 PM | Student Competition Program #1 – REPEAT | Student Fest Conversation #4: |
| 4:00 PM | Student Competition Program #2 – REPEAT | Student Fest Conversation #5: |
| 4:45 PM | Student Competition Program #3 – REPEAT | Student Fest Conversation #6: |
Saturday 24 May @ Treasury Theatre
| 4:00 PM | International Competition Program #1: Masters & Returnees – REPEAT |
| 5:30 PM | International Competition Program #2: Digital Extremes – REPEAT |
| 7:00 PM | International Competition Program #3: Hi-Fi Design – REPEAT |
| 8:45 PM | Late Night Bizarre (18+) |
Sunday 25 May @ Treasury Theatre
| 2:30 PM | International Competition Program #4: Hi Estonia & A Bonobo Shout-Out – REPEAT |
| 4:00 PM | International Competition Program #5: It’s Meta Time – REPEAT |
| 5:30 PM | Sunday Spotlight [details coming soon] |
| 7:00 PM | Best Of The Festival (18+) |
| 8:45 PM | Best Of The Festival (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.
For one special night, we are going to Studio Showoff in Brunswick for the MIAF 2025 Program Launch Party.
Just 25 minutes by tram from the city. Jump on a #19.
Or get an Upfield train to Jewell station. 30-35 minutes.
Limited capacity. Tickets required.
Tickets
Please note. We are not set up to sell tickets in person. Please buy your tickets online prior to the session.
Early Bird tickets only avaliable via our newsletter.
Individual ticket go to one session.
$20 full, $17 concession.
Opening Night access to both sessions on opening night at Treasury Theatre.
$26 full, $20 concession.
BINGE Pass access to everything at Treasury Theatre on the closing weekend.
$72 full, $60 concession.
Student Festival Pass access to the everything at our International Student Animation Festival at Backlot on Saturday 24 May.
$15 everyone.
Limited tickets. Only 45 available.
Festival Pass access to (nearly) EVERYTHING.
$140 full, $115 concession.
VERY limited, just 34 available. Includes access to everything except a free session (details coming soon). You will need to register for that.
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.
Program Launch Party
With the Full Program going live the next day (Friday 4 April) we will have a launch event at Studio Showoff in Brunswick.
Come join the party.
Tickets are free! But limited to just 80.
A chance to hang out with some familiar and friendly faces over a drink or two.
We’ll give you the sneak peek of the Full Program. Some films to watch. Maybe a surprise or two. 😉
📅 When: Thursday, 3 April
📍 Where: Studio Showoff, Brunswick
⏰ Time: 7-9pm
💲Cost: FREE (registered ticket required)
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 18 May at Treasury.
International Competition
The International Competition Programs are the backbone of the entire MIAF mission. Drawn from more the 2,300 submissions they showcase the best, most imaginative animating talent on the planet in a series of programs in which the only rule is diversity.
And because it is MIAF’s 25th anniversary we will kick off each program with a very special “look-back” film from the MIAF vault that highlights a special moment in our history.
#1: Masters & Returnees
#2: Digital Extremes
#3: Hi-Fi Design
#4: Hi Estonia & A Bonobo Shout-Out
#5: It’s Meta Time
#6: Character Study Drill Down
#7: Abstract
#8: Shar Studio Spotlight
#9: The Friday Freaks Parade
If you miss the first screening of program 1-5 at The Backlot Studios during the week, come along to the repeats on the weekend at Treasury Theatre.
Meet The Filmmaker
Every weeknight we kick off proceeding with an invitation to drop in and meet some of the people who create the work we celebrate in MIAF. These sessions are always different but blend a presentation by a filmmaker, a mini screening of their work and a chance for you to ask questions.
Although the full line-up is still being locked down, expect a uniquely personal look inside the world of Japanese animation, an animated doco shining a light on one of our most cherished Aus indie animation events, and an opportunity to take part in Melbourne chapter of an international organisation built to encourage and celebrate the work of women in animation.
International Student Animation Festival – THE RETURN
This year we happily relaunch a mini festival-within-a-festival dedicated entirely to the dynamic world of student animation.
A day dedicated to watching AND talking.
We have pulled together three fabulous, short programs for films from some of the best schools in the world and we’re busy assembling a roster of way-cool guests and presenters to come in to share their work, tell their stories and pass on their advice. So whether you’re in the bar, the foyer or the cinema there will always be something going down.
Pannonia Film Studio – Some Kind Of Wonderful
This extraordinary collection of works, many recently restored, showcase the elastic imaginations of several generations who worked for Pannonia, the studio charged with crafting screen culture during much of Hungary’s communist era.
Often mining imagery that borders on the psychedelic and hallucinatory, this is work that is utterly unlike anything that emerged from communist era studios in other states at the time. Researched and curated in Budapest on the very cusp of the covid era, this is the program we’ve been wanting to share with you for five years.
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+).
Sunday Spotlight
We love taking a breather just before the ‘Best Of The Fest’ rolls out to turn the stage and screen over to a special person, film or studio to share their unique take on the animation universe with us. This is one last chance to look under the hood of this unique artform and walk away with some fresh insights and new ideas about the limitless bounds of animation.
This is usually the last program to get locked in – and so it is this year. We’re working on something pretty special so stay tuned for details.
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 25 May at Treasury.