The festival showcases the very best documentaries from Venice, SXSW, CPHDOX, Doxa, Hot Docs, Tribecca, Freep Film Festival, Telluride, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival!
Documentary month comprises of: 120 + Documentaries, Web Series, VR and Shorts, 7 World Premieres, 6 Asia / Pacific Premieres, 20 Australian Premieres, 10 Victorian Premieres, 4 Digital Australian Premieres.
The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival is proud to showcase an incredible 24 Australian Feature Length Documentaries, in competition.
Opening Night:
Angel
Director: Charlotte White
This intimate, in-depth look at India Angel’s songwriting process and celebrated debut single ‘Move On’, reveals the emotional and vulnerable road from pen and paper to commercial success.
11.33 mins
20 minute Q&A with the directors at end
Making Wonder
Director: Camden Casey
Making Wonder follows Melbourne based singer/songwriter Stephen Grady into the studio at the start of the 2020 pandemic. Grady attempts to record his latest full length album, ‘Wonder’, in just 3 days
37.15 mins
20 minute Q&A with the directors at end
PATOU: In Black in White
Director: Fiona Cochrane
With a career that spans over four decades and across the globe, Jamaican singer Pat Powell (Patou) is one of Australia’s most accomplished yet hidden vocal talents. He is the artist that everyone wants to work with – the singer’s singer who sings with 15 bands, including the ARIA award-winning Melbourne Ska Orchestra. Born in the UK to Jamaican parents, Pat left the racism of the UK as soon as he could, although ‘stupidly’ found his way to Australia with its own racism issues. Father to four children from different mothers with varying ethnic backgrounds, Pat’s children all identify differently and raise a discussion about racism and where identity comes from.
55 mins
Closing Night:
Cuba My Soul
Director: Craig Miller
Some twenty years after The Buena Vista Social Club, traditional Cuban music lives on, but it’s facing a threat from foreign styles and a disinterested youth. We interviewed many of Cuba’s best and legendary artists and explored Cuban music, past and present. We invited several of our artists to perform in a live concert which delivered virtuoso performances and a brilliant and captivating soundtrack
1 hour 5 mins
10 minute intro (awards) 20 minute q&a, including intimate photographs of that time in 1968.
Masterclasses:
Masterclasses will be running online this year via Zoom and will be hosted by Chris Pankhurst of Documentary Life.
The Masterclasses are free to attend by registering at info@mdff.org.au.
- 30th July 2022 @ 9am Focus on Drone Filmmaking for Documentary Filmmakers with Brett Hunter from Gizmo Drones
- 30th July 2022 @ 10am Introduction to Documentary Photography with Walkley winner Barat Ali Batoor.
- 31st July 2022 Music Documentaries with Penelope Spheeris
- 31st July 2022 Documentary Open Mic – A review of rough cuts, trailers and feedback on short documentary – Helen Gaynor, Andrew Garton, Heather Mcintosh
Additional Events:
On 20th July 2022 @ 6.30pm there will be an Advance screening of Eternal Spring at Cinema Nova.
Docs in Federation Square on 25th July 2022 @ 6.30pm – Cats of Malta will play in Federation Square for free along with Rob Layton’s Short Documentary – Beneath the Lonesome Skye!
Every Wednesday in Warrnambool we playing an Australian documentary in conjunction with the F Project!
Our charity documentary this year is Abby’s List: a Dogumentary and will be online and nationwide across Australia from 1st – 31st July 2022. All proceeds are donated to the Lost Dogs Foundation of Melbourne.
Selected Highlights:
Learning To Live Together: The Return of Mad Dogs & Englishmen
Director: Jesse Lauter
In the spring of 1970, Joe Cocker undertook what became the legendary Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, immortalized in a live album and concert film. Fifty years later, first-time filmmaker Jesse Lauter tells the complete story through the lens of the Grammy Award-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band’s reunion of the Mad Dogs. In addition to Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and the entire Tedeschi Trucks Band, this reunion featured 12 of the original Mad Dogs, including Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge and Claudia Lennear, plus guest performers Chris Robinson and Dave Mason, among others. The film showcases inspired performances from the reunion show, along with an exclusive look at the history of the tour and never-before-seen archival materials, commentary from the original members, critic David Fricke, notable fans who attended shows on the original tour and features the last filmed interview with the late Leon Russell.
Art Lovers Unite
Directed by Patrick j Thomas
Follow activist/fashion designer VIVIENNE WESTWOOD and artist DACOB as they embark on a journey through art and its history.
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD and DACOB drift through the hallways of the Gemaeldegalerie in Berlin, Germany, while they unlock the history and secrets behind masterpieces painted by RAPHAEL, CARAVAGGIO, REMBRANDT, VELAZQUEZ, TITIAN and many more.
Topics at the core of ART LOVERS UNITE! include:
- How art inspires VIVIENNE WESTWOOD as a fashion designer.
- Why art is important and how it can help you grow.
- How to join the movement of becoming a “Freedom-Fighter” through art.
- Can art and fashion coexist?
- VIVIENNE WESTWOOD’s trip to India with Naomi Campbell & deadly injustices perpetrated upon the population in Indian villages.
- How art was perceived centuries ago and how it is perceived today.
- Unlocking secret codes and symbols in paintings.
- Art depicting death. Is there life after death?
- The surprising reveal of VIVIENNE WESTWOOD’s favorite painting.
- A percentage of this screening will be donated to one of Vivienne’s favourite charities Cool Earth
In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50
Directed by Toby Amies
What began as a straightforward documentary about the cult rock band King Crimson as it turned 50, mutated into an exploration of time, death, family, and the transcendent power of music to change lives. But with jokes. Direct to Melbourne from SXSW
1 hour 26 mins
The Other Fellow
Directed by: Matthew Bauer
Bond, James Bonds. Can anyone ever live up to that name?
An energetic exploration of male identity via the lives, personalities, and adventures of a diverse band of men, real men across the globe all sharing the same name – James Bond.
- Jamaica. When author Ian Fleming needs a name for his suave, sophisticated secret agent, he steals one from an unaware birdwatcher and creates a pop-culture phenomenon about the ultimate fictional alpha male.
- It is the year of 007’s sixtieth anniversary onscreen and Australian filmmaker Matthew Bauer is on a global mission to discover the lasting, contrasting and very personal impacts of sharing such an identity with James Bond.
Waterman
Director: Isaac Halasima
Surfing legend. Olympic superstar. Hawaiian Icon. American hero.
Five-time Olympic medalist and Native Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahanamoku shattered records and brought surfing to the world while overcoming a lifetime of personal challenges. Waterman explores his journey and legacy as a legendary swimmer, trailblazer, and the undisputed father of modern-day surfing, following the sport’s first-time inclusion in this year’s Games – a fitting tribute to his work promoting the sport around the globe. Narrated by Jason Momoa and was recently the top grossing documentary in North America
1 hour 32 mins
For more information on the festival please go to www.mdff.org.au
