Melbourne Nocturnal Film Festival (“Nocturnal” to her friends), is dedicated to Australian short films that are a little weird, offbeat, dark, unusual or difficult to neatly categorise. We love programming work with a strong personality, particularly films that might sit a bit outside the usual festival mould.

2027 marks the 5th year of the festival, and a move to our new home at Eclipse Cinema in Collingwood.

Nocturnal started out like all good stories - in the back room of a hollowed-out sex shop in Footscray. Armed with just a portable screen and a projector, we presented a free showcase of strange short films, bringing the weirdos of the Melbourne film community together for a single night.

The following year we expanded, ascending to the grand hall of a former church - which became our home for the next three years. Each year we transformed the Bluestone Church Arts Space into a pop-up cinema, programming dozens of short films across multiple days and creating a hub for oddball cinephiles to connect. The festival audience grew with us, as filmmakers submitted more films each year, and film lovers sold out screening sessions.

In 2027, we leave the wild West behind and bring the beating heart of Nocturnal to the inner-North. Our new home at Eclipse Cinema in Collingwood shifts us from a pop-up event to a dedicated independent cinema, allowing us to develop a more sustainable festival.

While the location has changed, the core of the festival hasn’t. As well as 4 curated screenings, we’re filling our 2027 program with filmmaker Q&As, networking events, guest judges and an awards ceremony. We’re fully committed to our community of weirdos and pride ourselves on supporting filmmakers at both emerging and established stages of their careers. We maintain low ticket prices to make the festival accessible to all audiences, and our submission fees are kept affordable for filmmakers. We also continue to offer full submission-fee waivers to First Nations filmmakers.

So whether you’re new to Nocturnal or have been with us from the beginning - welcome, weirdo. You’re one of us now.