Was that a bit alarmist, or an accurate reflection of where things are at for Australia’s longest-running film festival?
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“I don’t think it was overstating,” he said.
In 2022, Filmfest Limited, the holding company for MIFF’s consolidated activities – which includes industry programs (the film market 37º South, the director development program Accelerator Lab); a film investment arm (the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund); and regional screening events; as well as the festival proper – lost $1.32 million. In 2023, it recorded a deficit of $308,000. This year, Hodgkinson says, “our projections are that it will deliver a modest deficit”, the third loss-making year on the trot.
MIFF last year received $2.25 million in state government funding as part of a four-year commitment that expires next year. But that funding is not indexed to inflation, meaning this year’s allocation is worth around 20 per cent less than it was when it was announced.
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The festival’s total revenue in 2023 was $9.7 million, the vast majority of it from ticket sales.
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“We’ve depleted our reserves,” Hodgkinson said. “Reserves are there for a rainy day, and we’ve had our rainy day.”
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MIFF is not at risk of collapse, he insists, but it does need a buffer to be the boldest festival it can be.
“It’s not a live-or-die situation,” he said. “But the focus over the coming period will be to replenish those reserves that we’ve had to call in.”
The full program for the 72nd edition of MIFF was unveiled at the historic Capitol theatre on Thursday night.
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Highlights include the Australian premiere of Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail, which won the top prize at the Annecy Animation Festival in France last month; Justin Kurzel’s documentary portrait of Warren Ellis, long-time member of The Dirty Three and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; a feature adaptation of Alison Lester’s beloved children’s book Magic Beach, helmed by director Robert Connolly (The Dry, Paper Planes) and featuring the artwork of 10 different animators; and a 4K restoration of the outback nightmare Wake in Fright, with live score provided by soul supergroup Surprise Chef.
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It will also feature the local premieres of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds and the acclaimed body horror film The Substance, starring Demi Moore as an ageing actress and Margaret Qualley as a younger version of herself miraculously brought into existence thanks to a new cosmetic treatment.
MIFF runs August 8 to 25 in Melbourne, August 9 to 25 online, and August 16 to 18 and 23 to 25 in regional centres. miff.com.au
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