Melbourne Cinémathèque

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Melbourne Cinémathèque

The Melbourne Cinémathèque is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run film society. We hold screenings at ACMI, Fed Square every Wednesday night for most of the year.

Admission is by membership, which can be obtained on a short-term or yearly basis. Screening programmes include a diverse selection of classic and contemporary films showcasing director retrospectives, special guest appearances and thematic series including archival material and new or restored prints. We have on occasion hosted numerous seminars featuring renowned film scholars such as David Bordwell and Ian Christie. Comments on posts will be moderated for community standards.

14/06/2026

Our Johnnie To season has come to an end, but head to Senses of Cinema for a CTEQ Annotation on the final film in it.

David Sanjek annotates RUNNING OUT OF TIME (1999), an example of how To "particularly likes to toy with the doppelganger motif, playing off characters as well as performers for maximum exhilaration": https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/running-out-of-time/

10/06/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who has already contributed to our 2026 Australian Cultural Fund fundraising campaign.

We’ve raised over $3,000 so far – but we still need your help. Make a tax-deductible donation by 30 June to support our 2027 screening program: https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn00000gHCMgMAO/melbourne-cin%C3%A9math%C3%A8que-2027-program

The Melbourne Cinémathèque is a completely independent, volunteer-run, not-for-profit film society. Currently we receive no government funding, so every donation helps us continue our mission of screening rare and significant films drawn from the full history of international cinema.

Head to our ACF fundraising page linked above to learn more and make a donation. Every contribution helps, no matter how small. Thank you!

07/06/2026

Come along this Wednesday 10 June to ACMI for the final night of our current season where No One Here Gets Out Alive: Johnnie To, Dancing While the Building Burns.

At 7pm we will screen THROW DOWN (2004), in which Louis Koo plays an alcoholic bar owner and former judo champion challenged by a young rival (Aaron Kwok) and also befriended by a wannabe pop star (Cherrie Ying). Claimed by To as his tribute to Akira Kurosawa’s first film SANSHIRO SUGATA (1943), it has an unsurprisingly high number of beautifully choreographed and impactful fight scenes.

This will be followed at 8:50pm by RUNNING OUT OF TIME (1999). A dying master criminal (Andy Lau) seeks revenge on the crime syndicates and enlists the help of a police inspector (Lau Ching-Wan) as his unwitting accomplice. Paying homage to the cinema of Jean-Pierre Melville while leading the way towards key later works, To’s emotionally engaging and highly inventive take on the heist illustrates why David Bordwell called him "the most versatile talent" in Hong Kong cinema.

Both films will be screened on 35mm prints courtesy of National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

Memberships: https://www.acmi.net.au/cteq

06/06/2026

Head to Senses of Cinema for CTEQ Annotations on the middle films of our season on Johnnie To, Hong Kong filmmaker.

Faith Everard annotates RUNNING ON KARMA (2003), that "ultimately asks us to consider the consequences of hatred, violence and vengeance on the butterfly-effects of our many lives": https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2026/cteq/running-on-karma/

Sankeerthna Vedamtam annotates LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (2011), which, "In a tapestry of manifestations of its own title... showcases how these upperworld patterns keep repeating – and how the everyday person might go about spotting them": https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2026/cteq/life-without-principle-i-understand-completely/

Our To season concludes next Wednesday 10 June at ACMI with THROW DOWN (2004) from 7pm and RUNNING OUT OF TIME (1999) from 8.50pm, both on 35mm prints.

03/06/2026

Listen to Melbourne Cinémathèque Co-Curator Adrian Danks speak on 3CR Community Radio’s ON SCREEN with host Melinda O’Connor about our No One Here Gets Out Alive: Johnnie To, Dancing While the Building Burns season. With thanks to Melinda, ON SCREEN and 3CR: https://omny.fm/shows/on-screen/on-screen-23-may-2026?t=29m19s

Our To season continues at ACMI tonight from 7pm with RUNNING ON KARMA (2003), followed at 8.45pm by LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (2011), and then next Wednesday 10 June by THROW DOWN (2004) and RUNNING OUT OF TIME (1999). All on 35mm prints.

01/06/2026

Join us this Wednesday 3 June at ACMI for the second double bill of our season in which No One Here Gets Out Alive: Johnnie To, Dancing While the Building Burns.

At 7pm we will screen To’s tenth co-director collaboration with Wai Ka-Fai, RUNNING ON KARMA (2003), a supernatural buddy movie that unites an ex-monk turned bodybuilder (Andy Lau, donning an impressive muscle suit) with a kind cop (Cecilia Cheung) in an unpredictable adventure underpinned by Buddhist themes.

This will be followed at 9pm by LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (2011), a cautionary tale and ironic farce of criminal opportunism in which three desperate and very different characters risk it all to solve their financial problems. Part of the post-GFC trickle of “we should’ve seen this coming” cinema, capitalism reveals itself as just another of To’s rigged games.

Both films will be screened on 35mm prints courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

Memberships: https://www.acmi.net.au/cteq

31/05/2026

Head to Senses of Cinema for CTEQ Annotations on the first films of our season on Johnnie To, Hong Kong filmmaker.

Kevin Bui annotates ELECTION (2005), for which "the director strips away any hints of romanticism typically found in Hong Kong crime pictures", To’s own included: https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2026/cteq/knives-out-johnnie-tos-election/

An example, David Sanjek annotates EXILED (2006), where "To’s camera and his characters revel in their abandon": https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2007/cteq/exiled/

Our Johnnie To season continues this Wednesday 3 June at ACMI with RUNNING ON KARMA (2003) from 7pm and LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (2011) from 8.45pm, both on 35mm prints.

30/05/2026

Our Julie Christie season is over now, but head to Senses of Cinema for CTEQ Annotations on the final films in it.

Gabrielle O’Brien annotates THE GO-BETWEEN (1971), where "there is a lurking sense of disquiet" beneath the "pristine formal composition and beguiling Edwardian setting": https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2026/cteq/the-go-between/

Isabella Gullifer-Laurie annotates THE GOLD DIGGERS (1983), for which director Sally "Potter was interested in the currency and circulation of Christie’s image as a celebrity who represented both the trappings and performance of specifically fragile, white femininity": https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2026/cteq/through-the-looking-glass-the-gold-diggers/

Grace Boschetti annotates AWAY FROM HER (2006), in which "Christie is immediately credible, commanding and astonishingly beautiful on screen": https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2026/cteq/away-from-her/

27/05/2026

The Melbourne Cinémathèque is a completely independent, volunteer-run, not-for-profit film society. To help us continue our mission of screening rare and significant films drawn from the full history of international cinema – in both the form of 35mm prints and new restorations – we’re asking for your help.

Today we have launched an Australian Cultural Fund (ACF) campaign to support our 2027 screening program. If you can, head to our ACF fundraising page to make a donation: https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn00000gHCMgMAO/melbourne-cin%C3%A9math%C3%A8que-2027-program

Contributions of any amount up to 30 June 2026 will help us present a program that maintains our renowned level of quality. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Why do we need your help? The majority of our operating budget comes from our members (anyone who buys a Mini or Annual pass – maybe that’s you). We strive to keep our memberships as affordable as possible so that the whole community, including students and low-income earners, can enjoy the films we screen, many of which are unavailable elsewhere.

We’re proud of the program we put on every year despite working with a modest budget and a committee composed of unpaid volunteers. However, in recent years we’ve faced a number of financial challenges. Securing arts funding has become more difficult, and film rental and freight costs have increased.

That’s why every dollar we receive through this fundraising campaign helps to protect your Cinémathèque’s future in uncertain times. No matter how small. Thank you!

25/05/2026

Join us this Wednesday 27 May at ACMI for the opening night of our season exploring why No One Here Gets Out Alive: Johnnie To, Dancing While the Building Burns.

At 7pm we will screen ELECTION (2005). Often cited as Johnnie To’s magnum opus, the film features a large ensemble led by Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Simon Yam as opposing gang leaders engaged in a vicious struggle for power. Winner of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards, it brought a fresh perspective to the Hong Kong crime genre with its sobering view of that underworld.

This will be followed at 9pm by EXILED (2006), wherein a quartet of hitmen in pre-handover Macau find the bonds of friendship tested when they fall on opposite sides of an assignment. Staged with To’s typical feel for pauses, hesitations and sudden eruptions, the film showcases his regular players playing in brilliant harmony - Anthony Wong most fully embodying the film’s bruised humour and weary grace. Also featuring Lam Suet, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, Nick Cheung, Josie Ho, Richie Jen, and Simon Yam.

Both films will be screened on 35mm print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

Memberships: https://www.acmi.net.au/cteq

Address

ACMI, Federation Square, Flinders Street
Melbourne, VIC
3000

Opening Hours

7pm - 11:30pm

Website

http://www.melbournecinematheque.org/

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