The 2019 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival hits our shores soon and we’ve compiled a list of 7 standout films to check out during its run.

The 2019 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival is back for another year, featuring a diverse range of documentaries from local and international talent, across a broad range of themes and genres.

We’ve sourced 7 films that we believe are worth checking out below and you can click on the film’s title to be taken to its page on the official website, where you can use the links to secure tickets.

The festival will run from 19th – 30th July 2019 and for the full schedule, check out the official site here.

The Last Stop

For fans of documentaries that aim to shock.

Synopsis: The Elan School was the last stop. Set deep in the woods of Maine, Elan delivered controversial therapy to troubled teens. It was a meat grinder of raw emotion and harsh discipline. Some say it sold hope; others say it sold Hell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3962T4ZZyUI

Cielo

For the stargazers and lovers of natural beauty.

Synopsis: A cinematic reverie on the wonder and crazy beauty of the night sky, as seen from one of the best places on our planet to explore and ponder it: the Atacama Desert, Chile.

Dog’s Best Friend

For the dog lovers (bring the tissue box just in case).

Synopsis: Profile of Jacob Leezak’s Canine Behaviour Expert Dog Psychology Centre, located in outer Sydney, a place where traumatised dogs and traumatised humans can heal one another.

Dosed

For those with an open mind and a willingness to learn about different perspectives.

Synopsis: After years of prescription medications failed her a suicidal young woman, Adrianne, turns to underground healers to try and overcome her depression, anxiety, and opioid addiction with micro-dosing and iboga.

F*ck You All: The Uwe Boll Story

For movie lovers, and lovers of bad movies in particular.

Synopsis: Behind the lens with the most hated man in Hollywood. Honing his craft as an indie filmmaker in Germany in the early 90s, Uwe Boll never could have imagined the life that would lay itself out in front of him. He has experienced a storied career that has led to such highs as working with Oscar-winning actors and making films with 60 million dollar budgets and has reached such lows as having actors publicly disparage their films with Boll and online petitions for him to stop making films reaching hundreds of thousands of signatures. None of this stopped Uwe from continuing to put out movie after movie, totalling 32 feature films before retiring and opening a successful high-end restaurant. Already a cult legend, Uwe Boll will be remembered forever in the film world. Some will remember him as a modern-day Ed Wood, who made films so bad, they’re good. Others will remember him as the prolific filmmaker who came from a small town in Germany and never compromised his integrity while he created his own path in Hollywood.

New Homeland

For the humanitarian documentary lovers.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Barbara Kopple chronicles the experiences of five refugee children from war-torn Syria and Iraq whose families have resettled in Canada.

The Ghost of Peter Sellers

For lovers of film and filmmaking, featuring one of the most revered comedic actors of all time.

Synopsis: A comedy genius, a hot new director and a 17th Century pirate film. What could possibly go wrong? The Ghost of Peter Sellers is a feature-length documentary directed by Peter Medak about his unreleased film ‘Ghost in the Noonday Sun’, starring Peter Sellers and filmed in Cyprus in 1973. To this day one of the biggest film productions ever undertaken in Cyprus.