The Melbourne Cinémathèque has unveiled its program for the second half of 2022, opening with Douglas Sirk and closing with musicals. The program screens at ACMI from August 24 – December 21, showcasing a breadth of films from early German expressionism to contemporary Cannes winners, including provocative European films exploring gender, sexuality, activism, and non-conformity. Films screen in 35mm prints, 16mm prints, and new restorations.

The full program features eight curated seasons including the films of Douglas Sirk, Celine Sciamma, Juraj Jakubisko, Cecil Holmes, Barbara Hammer, F. W. Murnau, and Joan Micklin Silver. To close the 2022 program, the Cinémathèque presents a selection of genre-bending “alternative” musicals to entertain, dazzle and challenge audiences.

The Cinémathèque 2022 program will re-commence after the Melbourne International Film Festival with “Life’s Parade at Your Fingertips: Douglas Sirk”. Best known as the director of a string of lavish Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s, this season explores the stages in Sirk’s screen career – from his exploration of a wide variety of genres and modes of production to the group of films upon which his contemporary reputation rests (including All That Heaven Allows, A Time to Love and A Time to Die and Imitation of Life).

The Melbourne Cinémathèque screens in collaboration with our presenting partner ACMI and is supported by VicScreen.