by FIlmInk Staff
Melbourne International Comedy Festival is bringing funny to the big screen with Funny on Film – a special festival program celebrating the art of screen comedy, featuring the return of Funny Shorts – short film competition and screenings – and a specially curated program of laugh-out-loud cinematic gems.
Funny Shorts will showcase Australia’s sharpest short-form comedy in a special series of screenings. After clocking up hours chuckling in darkened rooms, the Festival’s jury – including Kate McLennan (Deadloch), Leela Varghese (Lesbian Space Princess), Tony Briggs (The Sapphires) and more – will select our 2026 Funny Shorts winner from a longlist of national finalists (selected by a panel of film and comedy experts). Audiences can catch the finalists back-to-back on the big screen and find out who wins at the premiere screening on Sunday 29 March session, with repeat screenings on Thursday 2 and Monday 13 April.
A highlight of the Funny on Film program is the world premiere of feature documentary Rod Quantock: Comedy Warrior directed and produced by Fiona Cochrane, exploring the life and art of Australian comedy icon Rod Quantock. Charting Quantock’s remarkable five-decade career, the film examines his tireless commitment to communicating the perils of neoliberalism and the urgency of climate change through humour. His journey mirrors the evolution of Australia’s thriving comedy landscape, showcasing an artist who has remained steadfast in his pursuit of truth – delivered, of course, with razor-sharp wit. Cochrane will attend the screening, followed by a live Q&A with Quantock himself.
Also screening as part of Funny on Film, in partnership with the Melbourne International Film Festival, two films capturing iconic comedy voices, promise the kind of communal, big-laugh experience only a festival crowd can deliver. In Sunlight, comedian Nina Conti makes her directorial debut with a darkly funny joyride involving a monkey, a radio host brought back from the brink and a dead man’s watch. The Pajama Men’s Shenoah Allen co-stars in and co-wrote Sunlight with Nina Conti. Meanwhile, Tim Key and Tom Basden – alongside director James Griffiths are joined by three-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan in the BAFTA-nominated The Ballad of Wallis Island.
The laughs continue outdoors with four nights of FREE screenings at Federation Square from 3–6 April, with a program of comedy gold across four decades of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Relive the hilarious moments and legendary performances from the comedians who have graced the Festival’s stages over 40 extraordinary years.
For more information and session details visit the website (click here for film events) or use the advance search option and select ‘film’.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival runs from 25 March to 19 April 2026.
Full program and tickets available now – visit comedyfestival.com.au
