Stories are crossing borders again, this time across towns, campuses and community halls throughout Victoria.
The Multicultural Film Festival (MFF) 2025, coordinated by the Victorian Multicultural Commission in partnership with Swinburne University, has returned with a bold line-up and a touring calendar that stretches across regional and metropolitan stops. It’s more than a festival. It’s a moving invitation to see ourselves and each other more clearly.
Running from July to October, this year’s tour includes screenings in Narre Warren, Shepparton, Melbourne’s CBD, the Mornington Peninsula and Federation Square. The festival’s final destination will be online, where all films will stream on SBS On Demand for a year from 10 November.
The official selection features fiction, non-fiction and refugee stories. These short films don’t scream for attention. They sit with you. They leave room for reflection. From Lara Köse’s You Are My Tomorrow, which won Best Victorian Short Fiction, to Outpicker by Le Luo, which took out the Best Non-Fiction award, the line-up is varied in theme and tone, but united by honesty.
Gabriel, directed by Kevin Duran Du, received both an honourable mention and the People’s Choice Award. It’s a story that has clearly struck a chord, particularly with younger audiences. Other films, like The Way to Freedom, co-directed by Hussam Saraf and Darryl McConnell, reflect the ongoing urgency of displacement, migration and the search for safety.
This year, the festival has also introduced a new initiative called “Friends of the MFF”—a group of experienced filmmakers and industry professionals who will offer guidance and support to the next wave of storytellers. It’s a small but practical step toward building longevity into Victoria’s screen diversity.
While the films are the heart of the event, the tour is about gathering. Screenings at venues like Bunjil Place and Federation Square become social spaces—not just for entertainment, but for encounter. They remind us that community is something we rehearse, again and again, through the stories we watch together.
For those unable to attend in person, the SBS On Demand rollout ensures the conversation doesn’t stop when the lights go up. It continues across living rooms and group chats, and in quiet moments long after the credits have rolled.
The Victorian Government has backed the festival as part of its commitment to inclusion and representation, and previous endorsements have noted the role MFF plays in shaping public dialogue around identity, belonging and culture.
Each tour stop brings with it the chance for local audiences to connect with creators—whether through Q&A sessions, informal chats or simple applause. From campuses like RMIT and the University of Melbourne in Shepparton, to community cinemas and open-air screens, the venues are as diverse as the films themselves.
There’s something intimate about this year’s offering. It doesn’t aim to impress with flash or grandeur. Instead, it builds something slower and deeper—a familiarity with voices we may not hear often, and a chance to sit still and listen.
Full details and tickets are available here. Online streaming starts on 10 November via SBS On Demand.
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