“I am grateful that my earliest films will finally be shared with an Australian audience in Melbourne, 45 years after my unfortunately-lost film Justocoeur played there in 1981.” Mary Stephen, filmmaker, Shades of Silk, screening in MIFF Restorations section
Cinema Reborn recommends Melbourne audiences make the time to check out the superb collection of restored classicsbeing presented as part of MIFF’s 2026 selection.
ANIKI-BOBO
Dir. Manoel de Oliveira, 1942, 72 mins, Portugal, Australian Premiere
The feature debut of Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira returns to the screen, beautifully restored, as a charming, proto-neorealist revelation.
“Embodies a poetic sensibility … Staggeringly simple in conception, it’s an immaculate piece of filmmaking and just one of many wonders that Manoel de Oliveira brought to cinema in his many years of indefatigable creation.” – The Film Experience
CAN SHE BAKE A CHERRY PIE?
Dir. Henry Jaglom, 1983, 90 mins, USA, International Premiere
Recently restored to 4K, this underseen odd-couple romance is a sweet slice of 1980s New York life featuring cameos from Larry David and Orson Welles.
“A delightful and nostalgic glimpse into the past, Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? deserves a place in the pantheon of great New York City movies.” – Film Inquiry
I SHOT ANDY WARHOL
Dir. Mary Harron, 1996, 103 mins, USA, Australian Premiere
In its Australian-premiering 4K restoration, Mary Harron’s fictionalised portrait of radical-feminist avenger Valerie Solanas still aims truly at manufactured cool and exploitative notoriety.
“As unexpected as it is riveting … an exemplary and dynamic work that goes about as far as a narrative film can in both analyzing a complex personality and portraying a cultural scene.” – Variety
MY LIFE WITHOUT STEVE
Dir. Gillian Leahy, 1986, 53 mins, Australia, Australian Premiere
Almost as controversial as it was lauded, this gorgeous, rigorously composed reflection on a break-up is a landmark work of Australian feminist cinema.
“A story of solitude, pain and obsession, of raw emotions elegantly presented and endlessly interrogated.” – Senses of Cinema
Director Gillian Leahy is a guest of the festival and will be in attendance at the Wednesday 19 August session of the film.
NADJA
Dir. Michael Almereyda, 1994, 93 mins, USA, Australian Premiere
Droll and (un)deadpan, this stylish David Lynch–produced 90s indie curio – newly 4K-restored – follows an elegant vampire stalking Manhattan by night.
“Does any movie await cult recognition more than Michael Almereyda’s Nadja? … Every inch of the experience personifies cult value: that lightning-jolt discovery of something so roundly adventurous while so attuned to itself.” – Le Cinéma Club
NINJA SCROLL
Dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri, 1993, 99 minutes, Japan, Australian Premiere
Vividly restored in 4K, this 1993 anime masterpiece follows a ronin, a ninja and a spy on their quest to defeat eight superhuman warriors.
“One of the most influential anime movies of all time … a true anime/cult classic, which separates itself from the mass of similar titles due to its elaborate script [and] astonishing battles.” – Asian Movie Pulse
SHADES OF SILK
Dir. Mary Stephen,1978, 62 mins, France/Canada, Australian Premiere
Long out of circulation, this evocatively elliptical tale of Sapphic yearning in 1930s Shanghai – newly restored – has been hailed as a major rediscovery.
“A visually sumptuous and delicate tale … The film is carried by elegant voiceover and entrancing cinematography that gracefully relate how memories and regrets linger.” – Film Comment
TILAÏÏ
Dir. Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1990, 81 mins, Burkina Faso, International Premiere
An adulterous love affair brings tragedy to a traditional village in Burkina Faso in Idrissa Ouedraogo’s masterful, Cannes-awarded fable, now restored in 4K.
“Tilaï unfolds with the stateliness and inevitability of Greek tragedy – but with lots more humour … as exhilarating an experience as it is haunting.” – Los Angeles Times
WEIGHED BUT FOUND WANTING
Dir. Lino Brocka, 1974, 128 mins, Philippines, Australian Premiere
In this scathing, multi-awarded, newly 4K-restored 1974 drama – regarded by Lino Brocka as his “first novel” – an affluent teen disillusioned by privilege befriends two outcasts.
“A seminal work in contemporary Philippine cinema … like a rock flung through a plate-glass window – a clarion call.” – Critic After Dark
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