Currently held in the month of August from 8th to 25th in 2024 and spanning events in the Melbourne CBD as well as inner-suburban and regional Victoria, MIFF screens films from both Australia and across the world to an audience of approximately 150,000.

[1] Alongside its expansive and well-received film program, MIFF realizes its vision, “An enlightened, inclusive, engaged society through film”,[2] via its renowned industry programs (the co-financing fund Premiere Fund, the talent incubator program Accelerator Lab and the film-financing market 37°South), its skill-building initiatives for youth (MIFF Schools and Critics Campus), and the MIFF Awards that recognize both short- and longform filmmaking talent.

[3][4] Appointed in 1956, Erwin Rado was the festival’s first director, holding the role until 1979 and returning for a single-year stint in 1983;[3] the Australian Dictionary of Biography notes that he shaped the film event’s character with his “uncompromising drive for excellence”.

In 2022, the festival screened 260 features, 111 shorts, 12 XR works, and 10 galas and special events, representing 82 countries of origin and 75 languages.

[8] In 2022, this was complemented by a feature-length competition for first- and second-time directors, the Bright Horizons Award (presented by VicScreen), whose winner receives a A$140,000 prize; as well as the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award, which recognizes an outstanding Australian creative with a A$70,000 cash prize.

In subsequent years, MUFF has attracted controversy by criticising the content of MIFF, as well as its management, specifically the leadership of former directors.