As always, the programme spans acclaimed international premieres, Australian discoveries, documentaries, shorts and boundary-pushing cinema. Among this year’s highlights is another selection of LGBTQIA+ stories, ranging from intimate romances and powerful documentaries to queer horror, historical dramas and coming-of-age tales.

Here’s a look at some of the queer films you won’t want to miss at MIFF 2026.

Leading the line-up is a special 25th anniversary presentation of cult classic ‘Hedwig And The Angry Inch’, with creator and star John Cameron Mitchell returning to Melbourne to present a restored 4K screening complete with live commentary.

Acclaimed filmmaker Ira Sachs also returns to MIFF with ‘The Man I Love’, following last year’s ‘Peter Hujar’s Day’. Set in New York’s West Village during the late 1980s, the Cannes-selected drama stars Rami Malek as an HIV-positive theatre artist determined to live life on his own terms alongside Tom Sturridge.

Queer cinema provocateur Gregg Araki is back with ‘I Want Your Sex’, a provocative satire starring Cooper Hoffman, Olivia Wilde, Daveed Diggs, Margaret Cho and Charli xcx that marks the director’s first feature in more than a decade.

Fresh from Cannes, Lukas Dhont’s ‘Coward’ explores a secret romance between soldiers during World War I, while Markus Schleinzer’s ‘Rose’ sees Sandra Hüller deliver an award-winning performance as a woman living as a man in a secluded 17th-century Protestant village after serving as a soldier.

Also arriving from Cannes is ‘La Bola Negra’, the ambitious queer epic from Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, screening as part of MIFF’s new Armani Beauty Cinema Club strand.

'For The Boys'

Australian audiences can catch the premiere of ‘Our Effed Up World’, the latest feature from prolific Adelaide queer filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay. Produced by Jane Schoenbrun, the queer horror blends retro genre thrills with an uplifting story of chosen family.

Another local highlight is Harvey Zielinski’s ‘Sweet Milk Lake’, a Bright Horizons Competition selection following a young trans man who finally discovers a sense of belonging in unexpected circumstances.

Documentary fans should look out for ‘Adam’s Apple’, filmmaker Amy Jenkins’ deeply personal portrait chronicling her son Adam’s gender-affirming care journey over eight years, exploring family, resilience and acceptance during an increasingly challenging political climate for trans communities.

Elsewhere, ‘Elephants In The Fog’ becomes the first Nepali feature selected for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. Starring LGBTQIA+ activist Puspa Thing Lama, the crime drama also serves as a powerful examination of trans rights across South Asia.

Rounding out the highlights is ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, executive produced by Jane Campion and set in a sleepy New Zealand beach town, offering an honest coming-of-age portrait of queer adolescence.

Sport also gets a queer spotlight through ‘For The Boys’, one of this year’s MIFF and AFL Footy Shorts. Written, directed and produced by Mitchell Withers, the short follows Australia’s first openly queer former AFL player Mitch Brown as he returns to the field able to embrace every part of who he is.

Check out the full programme.

Melbourne International Film Festival 2026 is on from 6-23 August, with MIFF Online running nationally 14-30 August.