ACMI And we're off!

The International Panorama is peppered with tiny gems, like the witty, vérité-style drama Littlerock, a clever fish-out-of-water film following a pair of Japanese siblings on their adventure through small town America. Three also features in this program, a comedic exploration of modern relationships by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). A selection of excellent new Australian cinema is also on offer, including the fascinating story of two rival neighbours whose late night arguments fuelled a proto-viral phenomenon, Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure.

Beloved music program Backbeat returns, featuring heartbreakers like The Swell Season, which "tenderly dismantles the romantic mythology surrounding indie smash Once," according to The Hollywood Reporter, and Better than Something: Jay Reatard, a biopic of the garage rock wunderkind who made a blistering mark on the international music scene before dying of a drug overdose at the age of 29.

Over in the Documentaries program insights and revelations abound, with films like How to Die in Oregon (Winner of the US Documentary Prize at Sundance) confronting the difficult subject of assisted suicide, while Pink Saris looks at a complex character who is fighting against India's patriarchal caste system. If you prefer to explore the world closer to home, you can see Melbourne through the decades with Melbourne on Film, a series of shorts spanning the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s that capture the local streets and architecture - part of MIFF's Our Space program.

This, of course, is barely scratching the surface. Explore the full program on the MIFF website now.