In news that was inevitable but is still somehow shocking, organisers of the Melbourne International Film Festival have pulled the plug on the 2020 festival.
MIFF has run in Melbourne for the past 68 years, giving audiences access to thousands of films from across Australia and around the world during the months of July and August. Whether you went to one or two films per winter season, bought yourself a mini-pass to gorge on ten films (plus three in off-peak times!) or took the whole month off and enjoyed unlimited movies till your eyes turned red and your loved ones wondered where you had ended up, the film festival was the highlight in many Melburnians' years.
Because of social distancing restrictions, the film festival has not been able to go ahead this year. If you've already bought yourself a pass for this year's festival, organisers will honour it at next year's festival.
All might not be lost for films slated for this year's festival, with MIFF considering ways to get those movies out in a different format. The Jewish International Film Festival and Japanese Film Festival have both put substantial parts of their program online on various streaming services, so it's possible MIFF will attempt to do something similar.