MIFF 2026: International Shorts 2
Melbourne International Film Festival 2026 is ongoing and I went to watch my seventh session (of 13!)
This post my short review of ‘International Shorts 2’, a collection of short films picked for the film festival
For context: I am a photographer/youtuber that wants to up my cinematography and storytelling, that’s why I’m watching 14 sessions at the film festival PLUS reviewing them here on my blog!
Why did I choose to watch this?
Same answer as the one in my 'International Shorts 1' review:
My interest in film festivals started with a shorts compilation at the Pigdon Street Film Festival. I went there in 2025 and got hooked. As you might have guessed, I watched the shorts compilation. When MIFF came around, I was pumped to watch as many movie as I can without feeling burnt out. The short films to me feel so fresh. Even as a child, I loved reading short stories more than full length books. Not just because “short attention span” or something, I would actually read a book that is a collection of short stories, so the total length is the same. I feel like I just find them neat: packing a narrative in such a compact space whilst still be interesting. The short films are even more interesting by the way they need to be efficient in introducing characters, establishing the context, and wrap up the conclusion. At the same time keep the pacing just right. The YouTube videos that I made is no where near the caliber of these short films, but certainly feels closer to them compared to a full-length blockbuster. So in that sense, I find them inspiring too. Okay, let’s get into my short reviews of each of the short films!
All images courtesy of miff.com.au
1. In Her Arms
The cinematography here is like I’ve never seen before. You can’t see the actors face, and in most scenes not even their head. The shits are mostly of the torsos. It’s about the Ukrainian’s experience when coming back from home after the Russia invasion. So I think the faces aren’t shown to indicate they the crux of the film was widely experienced by many people. In fact, it was explicitly spelled out in the first scene when a minesweeper officer said to the protagonists: “we can’t 100% check everything, you’re not the only ones.”
Not showing the actors face is obviously a big disadvantage. The expressions and emotions need to be conveyed via body language, composition, colour grading, light, sound design, and dialogue. I think they nailed that. Not seeing the face is kinda like closing your eyes and having all your other senses heightened. So you would pay attention on all the other aspects. Lovely!
The story is a heart wrenching one. The build up is great. I don’t want to spoil it more than that! Have a watch if you can. 9/10
2. For the Opponents
This one has also has a standout cinematography for me. The camera mostly follows Damian, the protagonist, almost from start to end. The camera tracks his movement while he’s in a boxing match. It’s seemingly shot using a long telephoto lens - I gathered that from the compressed look of the out of focus element. It feels claustrophobic, which is a great analogy to how the protagonist feels while wearing the boxing headgear. After the match ended, when he went out to play with his friend, the shot goes wide and it almost feels like a relief. Great movie about perseverance. Perhaps also about childhood and growing up, like a come of an age story.
3. Coyotes
The film is set at night time, the whole movie is at night. In fact, the passage of time seems to be quite close to real life but obviously with bits of jumps. The narrative is tight and resolved neatly at the end. It’s about psychological drama, which is a genre that I love. Definitely the type of story that can actually be expanded more. It’s set in Palestine and showcases the struggle there in a different way to what you might expect.
4. A Soil A Culture A River A People
This one I really didn’t get to be honest. On the way out, I overheard people saying the same thing. It’s enigmatic and a bit out there - well, maybe a lot out there. I didn’t quite get the narrative. The cinematography is cool though! The colour grading, the acting, and the compositions are all well done. The aspects of the film seem to be done well, except that I didn’t quite get the story. Maybe it’s something that I need to look up and read about before getting it. Or watching it again.
5. Mardochi
The use of voice notes to move the story along while a different thing happening on screen is nice, efficient for a short film. While watching, I thought it’s amazing that they can fit all this in a short film, turns out it has the longest run time. Still impressive though!
The story is subtle, at least for me. I didn’t know where it was going. I actually forgot the title of the film while watching and only looked it up at the end. It’s satisfying and neat. The kind of narrative that I think might be simple in the conception and the initial writing, making the execution from the casting, acting, and everything else.
Outro
As usual, these shorts were a hoot to watch! If you are new to film festivals, I definitely recommend watching the shorts firsts. Not only you get the best bang for your buck - in terms of films watched - but you also get to see an interesting format that you don't usually get to see. They are not full movies, they are not YouTube videos, they are short films!
