MASIFF: The Friend's House is Here (2025)

Both a charismatic hangout movie and a courageous act of dissent, this Sundance winner follows young creatives trying to make art in Iran.

They’re hip thirty-something artists with tote bags, fedoras and dinner parties – the kind you’d find in any city – except they live under a very different political regime.

Hanna is a contemporary dancer who posts videos of her work online, while playwright Pari stages experimental theatre productions. In Iran, both of these acts are illegal. Thick-as-thieves besties and housemates who participate in Tehran’s underground art communities, they live their lives – as artists, feminists and unwed women – in defiance of an authoritarian government that is openly hostile to everything they do.

Shot secretly in Tehran, life mirrors art as the actors themselves risk their freedom to make this very film. As censorship, surveillance, misinformation and brain rot rise, art becomes an act of truth and resistance.

Winner – Special Jury Award for Ensemble, Sundance 2026.

"An intimate portrait of underground artistic life made covertly under the threat of censorship, surveillance and arrest" - The Guardian

Accompanying Short: DARWIN 74

Director: Adnan Reza | Year: 2025 | Rating: Unclassified 15+ | Runtime: 6 mins | Country: Australia | Genre: Sci Fi, Drama| Language: English

Travelling back in time, Tim must decide whether to kill his grandfather or let bygones be bygones. Made with Bus Stop Films’ Darwin participants – an accessible filmmaking program for people with disability.

Accompanying Short: PROTEST ON THE DANCEFLOOR

Director: Talia Liddle | Year: 2025 | Rating: Unclassified 15+ | Runtime: 15 mins | Country: Australia | Genre: Documentary | Language: English

An exploration of how Blackfellas in Melbourne use music and dancefloors to create spaces of sovereignty, connection and liberation amid an ever-changing political climate.

Writer/director Talia Liddle is an Arrernte and Luritja filmmaker from Mparntwe/Alice Springs, now based in Naarm/Melbourne.

Winner – Uncle Jack Charles Award, MIFF 2026.
Part of Sovereign Shorts, presented by MIFF and NITV with support from VicScreen.