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‘For The Boys’<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tMelbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) returns in 2026, bringing more than 300 screen works to cinemas across Melbourne and regional Victoria, with MIFF Online extending the celebration nationally.
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As always, the programme spans acclaimed international premieres, Australian discoveries, documentaries, shorts and boundary-pushing cinema. Among this year\u2019s highlights is another selection of LGBTQIA+ stories, ranging from intimate romances and powerful documentaries to queer horror, historical dramas and coming-of-age tales. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at some of the queer films you won\u2019t want to miss at MIFF 2026. <\/p>\n
Leading the line-up is a special 25th anniversary presentation of cult classic \u2018Hedwig And The Angry Inch\u2019, with creator and star John Cameron Mitchell returning to Melbourne to present a restored 4K screening complete with live commentary. <\/p>\n
Acclaimed filmmaker Ira Sachs also returns to MIFF with \u2018The Man I Love\u2019, following last year\u2019s \u2018Peter Hujar\u2019s Day\u2019. Set in New York\u2019s West Village during the late 1980s, the Cannes-selected drama stars Rami Malek as an HIV-positive theatre artist determined to live life on his own terms alongside Tom Sturridge. <\/p>\n
Queer cinema provocateur Gregg Araki is back with \u2018I Want Your Sex\u2019, a provocative satire starring Cooper Hoffman, Olivia Wilde, Daveed Diggs, Margaret Cho and Charli xcx that marks the director\u2019s first feature in more than a decade. <\/p>\n
Fresh from Cannes, Lukas Dhont\u2019s \u2018Coward\u2019 explores a secret romance between soldiers during World War I, while Markus Schleinzer\u2019s \u2018Rose\u2019 sees Sandra H\u00fcller deliver an award-winning performance as a woman living as a man in a secluded 17th-century Protestant village after serving as a soldier. <\/p>\n
Also arriving from Cannes is \u2018La Bola Negra\u2019, the ambitious queer epic from Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, screening as part of MIFF\u2019s new Armani Beauty Cinema Club strand.<\/p>\n
‘For The Boys’<\/p>\n
Australian audiences can catch the premiere of \u2018Our Effed Up World\u2019, the latest feature from prolific Adelaide queer filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay. Produced by Jane Schoenbrun, the queer horror blends retro genre thrills with an uplifting story of chosen family. <\/p>\n
Another local highlight is Harvey Zielinski\u2019s \u2018Sweet Milk Lake\u2019, a Bright Horizons Competition selection following a young trans man who finally discovers a sense of belonging in unexpected circumstances. <\/p>\n
Documentary fans should look out for \u2018Adam\u2019s Apple\u2019, filmmaker Amy Jenkins\u2019 deeply personal portrait chronicling her son Adam\u2019s gender-affirming care journey over eight years, exploring family, resilience and acceptance during an increasingly challenging political climate for trans communities. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, \u2018Elephants In The Fog\u2019 becomes the first Nepali feature selected for Cannes\u2019 Un Certain Regard. Starring LGBTQIA+ activist Puspa Thing Lama, the crime drama also serves as a powerful examination of trans rights across South Asia. <\/p>\n
Rounding out the highlights is \u2018Big Girls Don\u2019t Cry\u2019, executive produced by Jane Campion and set in a sleepy New Zealand beach town, offering an honest coming-of-age portrait of queer adolescence. <\/p>\n
Sport also gets a queer spotlight through \u2018For The Boys\u2019, one of this year\u2019s MIFF and AFL Footy Shorts. Written, directed and produced by Mitchell Withers, the short follows Australia\u2019s first openly queer former AFL player Mitch Brown as he returns to the field able to embrace every part of who he is. <\/p>\n