The Melbourne Underground Film Festival (also known as MUFF) was formed out of disagreements over the content and running of the Melbourne International Film Festival

Melbourne International Film Festival

The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....

 (MIFF). When director Richard Wolstencroft

Richard Wolstencroft

Richard Wolstencroft is an Australian filmmaker, film festival director, former nightclub promoter, writer, cinema critic, cultural and political commentator...

's film Pearls Before Swine

Pearls Before Swine (film)

Pearls Before Swine is a 1999 film by Australian director Richard Wolstencroft that premiered at the Stockholm International Film Festival in November 1999. The film portrays the life of a hitman with an interest in such things as fascism, S&M, collecting erotic literature, Doctor Who, and...

was not accepted by the Melbourne International Film Festival, Wolstencroft claimed it was because his film was too confrontational for the tastes of MIFF. As a response to the film's rejection by MIFF, Wolstencroft founded MUFF in 2000 as an alternative independent film festival, featuring mostly genre, controversial, transgressive and avant garde material. MUFF has been known for controversy with a recent public disobediance screening of Bruce LaBruce's LA Zombie gaining world wide attention including coverage in the New York Times. The festival (now in its 11th year in 2010) has been out spoken on the poor state of the Australia Film Industry and the need to make more local genre films, has championed many issues of Freedom of Speech and outsider politics and ideas. The festival has also discovered (first world festival to show the work of) Australian directors like James Wan

James Wan

James Wan is a Malaysian-born Australian producer, screenwriter, and film director of Chinese heritage. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw and creating Billy the puppet. He also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious.-Life and career:Wan was born in Kuching, Sarawak,...

, Greg McLean

Greg McLean

Greg McLean is an Australian film director, producer and writer.- Biography :According to the production notes for film Wolf Creek, "after training as a fine artist specializing in painting, McLean attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art , completing a graduate diploma in directing." In his...

, Scott Ryan

Scott Ryan

Scott Ryan is the name of:* Scott Ryan * Scott Ryan...

, Spierig brothers

Spierig brothers

The Spierig Brothers is the collective name for Australian twin brothers and film directors, producers and writers Michael and Peter Spierig.-Biography:...

, Stuart Simpson, Andrew Traucki, David Nerlich, Neil McGregor (film director)

Neil McGregor (film director)

Neil McGregor is an Australian film director.His directorial debut feature length film The Little Things was funded by Screen Australia, Screen Queensland & QPIX....

 and many others. International Guests of MUFF have included Bruce LaBruce

Bruce LaBruce

Bruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...

, Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...

, William Lustig

William Lustig

William Lustig , also known as Bill Lustig, is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre.-Movie career:...

, Ron Jeremy

Ron Jeremy

Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...

, American film director Chris Folino

Chris Folino

Christopher Peter Folino is an acclaimed film director, screenwriter and producer whose work has been lauded in film festivals across several continents....

, Michael Tierney

Michael Tierney

Michael Tierney is an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He is the nephew of actors Lawrence Tierney and Scott Brady. His directorial debut, Evicted opened the 1st Annual Melbourne Underground Film Festival in Australia in July 2000....

, Peter Christopherson

Peter Christopherson

Peter Martin Christopherson, a.k.a. Sleazy was a musician, video director and designer, and former member of the influential British design agency Hipgnosis....

, Jim Van Bebber

Jim Van Bebber

Jim Van Bebber is an American film director. Van Bebber attended Wright State University where he studied cinema. Instead of using a bank loan to pay for a second year of college, he used the money to finance Deadbeat at Dawn, and founded the indie film company Asmodeus Productions with several...

, Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...

 and Geretta Geretta

Geretta Geretta

Geretta Geretta is an African-American actress, director, screenwriter and producer, who has worked in Ireland, South Africa, Italy, Switzerland and the United States.She has directed the 2001 Swiss film Sweetiecakes, starring Stephanie Berger and Urs Althaus, and the...

.

External links

• Official Melbourne Underground Film Festival Site