The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) concluded its 2024 edition, with the offbeat Canadian comedy “Universal Language” winning the prestigious Bright Horizons Award. Directed by Matthew Rankin, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight section earlier this year.
In their statement, the jury praised “Universal Language” for its ability to transcend borders through cultural specificity, match cinematic playfulness with sensitivity, and engage in a conversation with cinema’s past, present, and future.
The Special Jury Award went to Latvian director Gints Zibalodis’ animated ecological fantasy “Flow,” which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. The jury recognized the film’s grace, empathy, and universality, stating that it would leave a mark on cinema and the world.
Other notable winners included:
Jaydon Martin, director of the docu-fiction hybrid “Flathead,” which premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival earlier this year. The film is a black and white portrait of an Australian working-class community dealing with toxic masculinity and faith.
April Phillips, lead artist of “kajoo yannaga (come on let’s walk together),” who received The Uncle Jack Charles Award in collaboration with Kearney Group, recognizing outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives.
MIFF artistic director Al Cossar expressed his delight at the enthusiasm and cinematic maximalism displayed by Melbourne audiences throughout the festival, which featured 280 films. He noted that audiences celebrated incredible new Australian filmmaking, discovered the year’s cinematic highlights, explored unseen corners of film history, and met over 130 attending guests and artists.
The festival ran from August 8 to 25 in cinemas, showcasing a diverse range of films and honoring the best in independent and international cinema.
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