The 70th Melbourne International Film Festival is all set to commence coming month and in the lastest update MIFF has unveiled the 11 titles set to compete in its first ever international competition.

The MIFF Bright Horizons competition has a focus on first and second features, and a prize of A$140,000 ($94,000) – the biggest film prize in Australia.

Scroll down for full list of titles

MIFF artistic director Al Cossar’s line-up includes several debut features from female directors including Aftersun from UK director Charlotte Wells and magical realist eco drama The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future from Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegría.

Further first features from women in the competition have already won prizes on the festival circuit. These include Natalia López Gallardo’s Robe Of Gems, which won the Silver Bear jury prize at the Berlinale; Martika Ramirez Escobar’s filmmaking comedy drama Leonor Will Never Die, which received a Sundance special jury award; and Laura Wandel’s bullying drama Playground, winner of the Fipresci prize at Cannes, where it played in Un Certain Regard. Another UCR winner selected for the competition is Lola Quivoron’s coming-of-age feature Rodeo, which received the Coup de Coeur Award.

Two local contenders are both second films. The Strange, starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, marks Thomas M Wright’s follow up to Acute Misfortune while Alena Lodkina’s Melbourne-set drama Petrol is her second feature after Strange Colours.

Fresh from Cannes

Launched this evening at Melbourne’s Plaza Ballroom, the programme will include 257 features of which 18 are world premieres and a record 61 titles are fresh from Cannes. These include Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave, Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Tori And Lokita, and Riley Keough and Gina Gammell’s Camera d’Or winner War Pony.

MIFF 2022 competition titles

Aftersun (UK-US)
Dir. Charlotte Wells

Domingo And The Mist (Costa Rica-Qat)
Dir. Ariel Escalante Meza

Leonor Will Never Die (Phil)
Dir. Martika Ramirez Escobar

Mass (US)
Dir. Fran Kranz

Neptune Frost (Rwanda-US)
Dirs. Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman.

Petrol (Australia)
Dir. Alena Lodkina

Playground (Bel)
Dir. Laura Wandel

Robe Of Gems (Arg-Mex-US)
Dir. Natalia López Gallardo

Rodeo (Fr)
Dir. Lola Quivoron

The Stranger (Australia)
Dir. Thomas M Wright

The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future (Chile-Fr-US-Ger)
Dir. Francisca Alegría