The most unique film festivals across Australia

Mckenna UhdeBy Mckenna Uhde
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Whether you love oceans or mountains, are curious about Korean cinema or want to learn more about Indigenous cultures in the Northern Territory, there’s a film festival out there for you. Here’s our lowdown.

When it comes to the film festival circuit in Australia, we all know to visit the old standbys – Sydney Film Festival, Adelaide Film Festival and Melbourne International come to mind. But what about more niche or themed festivals, where you can delight in your favourite styles and genres for an entire week straight?
Luckily for you, we’ve compiled some of the most unique film festivals across Australia.
Surely one of these will tickle your film-loving fancy.

Sydney Underground Film Festival

Sydney, NSW

This unconventional film festival held at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville premiers unique independent films that push the limits of filmmaking. For four days, watch a line-up of movies devoted to renewing local interest in experimental film as a part of an international underground film culture.

 

This year’s festival, held in September, took viewers on a journey of intriguing and inspiring works of film, closing its final night with Nicholas Cage’s bloody and harrowing performance in Mandy.
Sydney Underground has become the perfect place for unconventional film-lovers to gather and celebrate the strange and eccentric side of the film world.
For 2019 details, head to the Sydney Underground Film Festival website.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival

Australia tour dates and locations TBA

For all the adrenaline-junkies out there, make sure to catch the Banff Mountain Film Festival as it makes a pit stop in Australia along its international tour, showcasing the best of mountain adventure film.

 

This unique film festival has been running since 1976 with 375 films entered annually, ranging in topics from remote landscapes and cultures to adrenaline-packed action sport.
The festival is held every November in Banff, Canada where 300 films are shown over the course of a week.
Two hours of award-winning content is then chosen to tour 35 countries, with the festival gracing Australian screens throughout April, May and June.

SF3 SmartFone Flick Fest

Sydney, NSW

Inside the Smartfone Flick Fest.

If you’re looking for a challenge when it comes to filmmaking, this one-of-a-kind festival gets creative with some unusual submission parameters.
At the SF3 SmartFone Flick Fest , every film submitted must only being shot on a smartphone or tablet and cannot be more than six and a half minutes in length. Perfect for the short attention span.

 

This festival offers a variety of masterclasses alongside the film premiers and makes for an exciting and one-of-a-kind event. It’s the place for film lovers to experience the future of technology and its partnership with top-notch filmmaking.

Cradle Mountain Film Festival

Cradle Mountain, Tas

In its fifth year, Cradle Mountain Film Festival showcases some of the best mountain film from around the world. Created by the Cradle Mountain Canyons , an adventure tourism group, the CMFF aims to engage viewers through the power of art and film as well as offer an insight into the Tasmanian mountainside.

 

This event wants visitors to experience filmmaking second to mountaineering. Enjoy the self-guided Mountain Huts Film Trail, canyoning, yoga and cold water therapy in addition to family-friendly mountain films in the Forest Yurt Cinema. The next edition runs from 29–31 March 2019.

Korean Film Festival in Australia

Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane

A glimpse into the Korean Film Festival in Australia.

The Korean Film Festival will be hitting Australia for the 10th year in 2019, showcasing the latest Korean filmmaking along its Australian tour.
Korean Film Festival strives to reach Australian audiences through universal themes and genres, with 22 films and special guests throughout the four locations.
Visiting Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane, the festival offers a vibrant selection of films sure to delight fans of Korean culture as well as introduce Korean cinema to a broader Australian demographic.

 

Showcasing indie flicks, rom-coms and more, the festival schedule never disappoints and offers a unique experience that will take you on a journey – you’ll forget you’re even in Oz.

Tasmania Breath of Fresh Air Film Festival

Launceston, Tas

Held in May and the only annual film festival in the region, the Tasmanian Breath of Fresh Air Film Festival brings over 30 award-winning films and documentaries from across the world to Launceston.
The four-day festival strives to create a community experience featuring the best of local food, wine and film.

 

Expect a variety of films from a number of unique categories such as Stories of Us showcasing Tasmanian and Australian stories, Eat/Drink/Live featuring fine food, wine and sustainable living, and Call of the Wild telling stories of extreme adventures in the mountains, sea and air. These stories are viewed on the big screen while enjoying the best of Tasmania dining at this experiential film event.

Environmental Film Festival Australia

Melbourne, Vic

The Environmental Film Festival Australia entertains Victorian audiences each year in October with films traversing the relationship between humans and their environment, in an effort to raise awareness for environmental issues around the world.

 

This festival challenges viewers to reflect on the natural world and discuss positive change, by partnering inspirational filmmaking with panel discussions and debates.
Australia has some of the most distinct and stunning natural environments in the world, thus making the perfect location for an environmentalist platform.
Viewers are encouraged to take what they learn from these events and try to make small differences each day toward sustainability. You will visit this captivating event as a viewer and leave motivated to make change.

Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival

Sydney, NSW

Sydney is known for its iconic Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and this film festival fits appropriately into the week’s LGBTIQ pride festivities, running each year in autumn as part of the city-wide celebration.

 

Celebrating its 25th year in 2018, Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival showcases queer filmmakers and artists who share the diversity of sexualities and gender identities on screen.
This annual festival reflects the greater Mardi Gras theme as an eccentric and colourful installation into one of Sydney’s biggest events.
Experience Mardi Gras with inspiring tales of diversity by some of Australia’s best filmmakers.

Human Rights Arts & Film Festival

Melbourne, Vic; Launceston, Tas; Canberra, ACT

The Human Rights Arts & Film Festival , a not-for-profit arts organisation, stands out for its seamless incorporation of human rights into the film industry.
This annual event held in May and June explores diverse and inspiring Australian human stories through film, art, music and forums.
Films shown this year included a multi-generational family fighting for Indigenous rights, and the inspiring story of OzHarvest CEO Ronni Kahn and her latest crusade.
The festival aims to engage audiences of all ages with social justice and human rights issues, with the help of local and national artists. It’s an art and film frenzy with a wonderful message.

Fleurieu Film Festival

McLaren Vale, SA

The incredible Fleurieu Film Festival.

With all the excitement around feature film festivals, we often forget to celebrate short film. Luckily, the Fleurieu Film Festival , held next on 9 February 2019, does just that.
Though still in its early years, the short film celebration has become immensely popular for its chosen films as well as its community-feel.

 

The festival provides a relaxing experience set at the Serafino Winery where food, drink and entertainment go hand-in-hand.
Awards and screening nights offer award-winning wines and dinner included with your ticket overlooking the distant South Australian hillside – the ideal way to experience short film.

Ocean Film Festival Australia

Every state and most major cities

The awe-inspiring Ocean Film Festival.

The Ocean Film Festival Australia tour makes sure to hit nearly every major city in Australia, advocating for our oceans’ protection.
This inspiring festival shares stories of exploration and education with over two hours of inspirational and entertaining ocean-related content.
Both Australian and international filmmakers are showcased each year in March covering a range of topics including oceanic environment, marine creatures, ocean related sports, coastal cultures and ocean-lovers.

 

This is the perfect festival for nature-lovers and advocates, as well as those who yearn to learn a little bit more about our incredible oceans.

Travelling Film Festival

NT, QLD, NSW

Following years of success at the Darwin International Film Festival, a platform has now been created by the Darwin Film Society to showcase inspiring film work exclusively out of the Northern Territory.

 

Hitting 18 towns nationwide, the Travelling Film Festival aims to share stories from the Northern Territory with the rest of Australia.
This event enhances the diverse culture of the local community through alternative feature filmmaking, much of which comes from regional and remote NT.
The Darwin Film Society has created a truly unique film experience encapsulating what it means to be a part of the Northern Territory.

Mckenna Uhde
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Explore historic wine towns and sculpture trails on a 3-day self-guided Murray River cruise

    Ricky FrenchBy Ricky French
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    Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place. 

    Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat. 

    After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.    

    Murray River
    The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

    Setting sail from Mildura 

    Murray River birds
    Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

    A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.  

    My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.  

    Stop one: Echuca  

    19th-century paddlesteamers
    A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star , is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.  

    The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.  

    Stop two: Barmah National Park 

    Barmah National Park
    Camping riverside in Barmah National Park, listed as a Ramsar site for its significant wetland values. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

    Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.  

    The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.  

    Stop three: Cobram 

    Yarrawonga MulwalaGolf Club Resort
    Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange. 

    The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.  

    Stop four: Albury-Wodonga 

    First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk
    First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

    Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country. 

    A traveller’s checklist  

    Staying there

    New Mildura motel Kar-rama
    New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

    Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town. 

    Playing there

    BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura
    Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

    Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists. 

    Eating there

    Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.