This will hit you in the feels if you are at all a fan of Mary Oliver‘s poetry and make you want to go out and buy one of her books if you are not.
Continue readingMary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (2026)
StandardTag Archives: female directors
Gentle Monster (2026)
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There is a warning at the start of this film that it contains references to child sexual abuse and so you know it is going to be potentially a tough watch.
Continue readingLa Gradiva (2026)
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This is the first film of the festival so far where I felt completely emotionally enveloped by its story.
Continue readingAro Berria (2025)
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I think there is a reason why I completely overlooked writing a review for this and only remembered a few days later. It is one of the few films at the Melbourne Film Festival that I have seen and being completely underwhelmed by.
Continue readingBlue Heron (2025)
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This evocative and gentle exploration of parenting, childhood memories, dislocation, and neurological difference by Sophy Romvari creates a compelling fiction around autobiographical elements of her life.
Continue readingForever Your Maternal Animal (Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno)(2026)
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I’ve been pondering the title of this film by Valentina Maurel, as it has a resonance once the closing credits rolled that I hadn’t really considered at the start.
Continue readingBarbara Forever (2026)
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My MIFF BFF Ariel said I had to see this film as Barbara Hammer is the most important lesbian filmmaker ever. I’m glad I did.
Continue readingStrawberries (La Más Dulce) (2026)
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This seems to be a theme in the films that I am watching at the Melbourne Film Festival that when people have power they will abuse it, and by people I mean men.
Continue readingPast Future Continuous (2025)
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Oh, I feel conflicted about this documentary. I was going along with it for quite a while, even forgiving some things that didn’t quite make sense – were there no neighbours who could drop in or answer a phone call? – but a growing unease left me feeling cheated.
Continue readingJohanna D’Arc of Mongolia (1989)
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The Melbourne Film Festival is doing a strand of films by Ulrike Ottinger this year and, not knowing anything about this director, I was drawn in by this one being set largely in inner Mongolia at a time where no western directors had previously been allowed to film there.
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