Game Worlds is here! Explore major titles like Minecraft, Final Fantasy XIV Online, The Elder Scrolls Online, SimCity, and Stardew Valley, joining iconic titles including World of Warcraft, The Sims, Neopets and the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Spanning over 50 years of play, Game Worlds features more than 30 videogames from the 1970s to today, with 44 playable moments, original builds, rare design materials and hands-on prototypes you won’t find anywhere else.

Discover four new microgames made exclusively for ACMI by Australian developers – from nostalgic dial-ins to playful perspective shifts.

Don’t miss limited-edition Game Worlds merchandise, available only at ACMI, featuring collectibles from Neopets, Hollow Knight: Silksong and The Sims, along with ACMI-produced books delving into The Sims and Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Game Worlds
On until Sun 8 Feb 2026
ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au

From cyberpunk megacities and first knowledges to rewilded landscapes and sci fi renegades, The Future & Other Fictions showcases the people, artworks and ideas that shape tomorrow.

Through more than 180 works, this immersive exhibition invites you to step into the imaginations of 19 creative visionaries from around the globe. Experience how futures are imagined and made onscreen, with artworks, sets, props, scripts, clips, costumes and original design materials on display.

Explore a wealth of Afrofuturist creations, including costumes from Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by legendary designer Ruth E. Carter. See how the cityscapes of Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner 2049 and The Creator were dreamed up through stunning concept art and intricate models. Enter the kaleidoscopic world of Icelandic pop goddess Björk, with masks, dresses and artworks designed for her music video ‘The Gate’. Witness the reclamation of First Nations, South Asian and Pacific futures through fashion activism and remixed rituals and mythologies.

The Future & Other Fictions also features two new moving image works by Hannah Brontë, and Natasha Wanganeen and Liam Young.

The futures we imagine are the futures we will live in.

The Future & Other Fictions Exhibition
28 November 2024 – 27 April 2025
ACMI, Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/future-fictions/

Japanese audiences were captivated by the storytelling and visual effects but equally hushed by the spectacle of mass destruction unleashed on a miniature Japan, which served as a fitting allegory for the horrors of nuclear warfare.

The film’s international release saw the monster’s popularity soar, with Godzilla eventually becoming one of the most memorable screen icons of the 20th Century and the first character to spawn a global film franchise.

Exactly 70 years after the release of the first film, ACMI is celebrating the king of monsters with screenings of seven key films in the eight-decade franchise; panel talks that explore Godzilla’s profound impact on filmmaking and on our social and cultural imagination; a movie marathon with trivia hosted by comedian Alex Hines; a nocturnal Halloween party featuring live music from local DJs and food and drinks; plus pop-ups, playable games and hidden treats for Godzilla fans throughout our centrepiece exhibition The Story of the Moving Image.

GodzillaFest
31 October – 3 November 2024
ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au

From the swagger of Mae West and glamour of Anna May Wong to the powerful punch of Pam Grier, this ACMI-curated exhibition salutes the groundbreaking achievements and impact of the screen’s leading gender revolutionists. Too often reduced to the status of bombshell, starlet and screen siren, these goddesses remain far more than stereotypes.

Featuring never-before-seen costumes, original sketches, interactive experiences and cinematic treasures, including iconic outfits worn by Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Geena Davis and Margot Robbie, Goddess honours the artists who challenged narratives, defied expectations and transcended tropes.

Whether it’s Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Michelle Yeoh or Zendaya, today’s goddesses unapologetically occupy spaces and roles that shatter glass ceilings, project solidarity and reframe society through essential stories, singular voices and complex characters. They’ve fought convention and an industry built to confine them with collective power and fearless creativity to embody their own heroes and forge their own paths.

Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion Exhibition
ACMI, Melbourne
5 April – 1 October 2023
www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/goddess/

Spanning moving image, installation, documentary, photography and video games, How I See It amplifies the artists and filmmakers’ perspectives on representation, the gaze, colonial archives and knowledge systems. These eight creators consider how First Peoples have been historically represented on our screens as they also imagine alternate realities and futures. The exhibition showcases works that use diverse materials and ideas to disrupt and reimagine, as well as expand the artists’ practice, supporting experimentation with new technologies and mediums.

How I See It, curated by Kate ten Buuren (Taungurung), will unveil five new commissions by Amrita Hepi (Bundjulung and Ngapuhi), Jazz Money (Wiradjuri), Joel Sherwood Spring (Wiradjuri), Jarra Karalinar Steel (Boonwurrung, Wemba Wemba and Trawlwoolway) and Peter Waples-Crowe (Ngarigu), alongside works by Essie Coffey OAM (Murawari), Destiny Deacon (KuKu and Erub/Mer) and Steven Rhall (Taungurung).

How I See It includes a film program curated by Jenna Rain Warwick (Luritja), that celebrates films that exist in the in-between, that question the notion of place, national identity and reflect on the historical representations of First Nations peoples. The program features surreal, genre-bending films; weaving histories, perspectives, and timelines to give power to the storyteller, and subvert traditional western storytelling.

How I See It will be accompanied by an exhibition catalogue featuring an introduction by Dr E Flynn and new writing by Dr Paola Balla, John Harvey and Ellen van Neerven.

How I See It: Blak Art and Film Exhibition
16 December 2022 – 19 February 2023
ACMI, Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au

Gabriella Hirst has been awarded the prize from a field of impressive candidates vying for the prestigious visual art commission – an initiative of The Ian Potter Cultural Trust (IPCT) and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

The commission will make possible a new work, Darling Darling (working title), which will have its world premiere at ACMI in 2020. The proposed work parallels the precise and elaborate care taken to preserve colonial paintings of the Australian landscape with the real-world preservation of the Murray Darling Basin.

Darling Darling follows on from the success of previous Ian Potter Moving Image Commission, The Calling, by Angelica Mesiti who will represent Australia at this year’s Venice Biennale, and Daniel Crooks’ Phantom Ride. Both artists have gone on to enjoy critical and popular success upon premiering at ACMI.

In announcing Gabriella Hirst as the winning recipient, IPMIC Panel Chair and ACMI Director & CEO, Katrina Sedgwick, praised her innovative work in the rapidly expanding field of moving image art.

“We are thrilled to award Gabriella the 2020 Ian Potter Moving Image Commission. Her practice and her proposed work stood out amongst an incredibly competitive field of applicants. ACMI is proud, as the national museum of film, television, videogames and digital art and culture, to be partnering with The Ian Potter Cultural Trust to present the world premiere of Hirst’s commission Darling Darling as one of the first exhibitions following our reopening in 2020.”

Today Gabriella Hirst spoke about her excitement in receiving the commission: “Thank you to ACMI and The Ian Potter Cultural Trust for selecting my proposal for the IPMIC, I’m beyond thrilled. It’s a huge opportunity for me to develop a work at this scale and with such incredible support. I’m very grateful for the confidence in my practice as a young Australian moving image artist. I’m looking forward to developing the project and beginning production alongside the team at ACMI.”

Lady Potter AC, Trustee of The Ian Potter Cultural Trust, commended Gabriella Hirst on being awarded the 2020 Ian Potter Moving Image Commission. “The Ian Potter Cultural Trust is delighted to be supporting an exciting and dedicated young artist. Gabriella Hirst’s work promises to be a timely exploration of the connection between the romanticism of the Western art tradition, and the realities of the Australian landscape.”

2020 Ian Potter Moving Image Commission, Darling Darling (working title) will premiere at the newly reopened and revitalised ACMI in 2020.
www.acmi.net.au

Cleverman stormed onto ABC TV in 2016 as a dystopian sci-fi with a difference. With predominantly Indigenous cast and senior crew, the series explores a series of Aboriginal origin stories in a contemporary context, with political nuance touching on themes of class, racism and power.

Exploring First Nations storytelling, language and creativity in production design, costumes and props, this free exhibition invites you to listen-first and immerse yourself in a powerful and contemporary expression of origin stories.

The exhibition explores the making of Cleverman, including props, costumes and make-up from the series, designs by Weta Workshop and artwork from the original comic book series.

This exhibition has been curated by ACMI and co-curated by Cleverman concept creator Ryan Griffen and Cleverman production designer Jacob Nash.

Cleverman series 1 and 2 are available on ABC iview for the duration of the exhibition.

Cleverman: The Exhibition
6 December 2018 – 22 April 2019
ACMI – Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au

This three year, $210,000 commissioning program is the first of its kind in Australia and will support Australian artists and filmmakers working at the nexus of film and art enabling them to make a new, ambitious and experimental screen based work, and to explore new forms and methodologies in their practice.

Based on the unsolved murder of famous Sydney anti-development campaigner Juanita Nielsen in 1975, Zanny Begg’s The Beehive examines themes of gentrification, corruption, sex-work, feminism and non-conformist lifestyles. Created using an algorithm, the film will be randomly compiled from a reservoir of scripted fictions, documentary interviews and choreographed sequences exploring the implications of this infamous cold case and how they can be applied today. Using the tropes of true crime, the work will morph and evolve with each viewing, offering audiences different glimpses and interpretations of the crime.

The Artbank + ACMI Commission partnership further expands ACMI’s vibrant commissioning program, which through a series of vital collaborations – with Artbank, Ian Potter Foundation, City of Melbourne and the Mordant Family – will directly fund Australian artists with $650,000 worth of financial support to create new work over the next three years and then exhibit it to thousands of people at ACMI and beyond.

The Beehive is a free video installation exhibition premiering at ACMI on Tuesday 31 July. The work is of variable duration. More at acmi.net.au/beehive

QUOTES:
Artist Zanny Begg said:
“Juanita walked into The Carousel nightclub in July 1975 and disappeared. This void forms the core of The Beehive, a gap that is filled with a multitude of contemporary actors and activists who all in their own unique way reflect aspects of Juanita. There are twelve people cast as Juanita allowing multiple readings of her story and its significance for Sydney. I am very thankful to ACMI and Artbank for this opportunity to bring such an important story to the screen.”

“Living in Sydney the murder of Juanita Nielsen forms part of the core of our urban landscape, its a story that I thought I knew well. Working on The Beehive for the last year has shown me that there is so much more to the story that I first assumed. Obviously our fascination with this story centres on who killed Juanita, which I hope my film addresses, but for me the most incredible part was to also search out what sort of woman Juanita was. It was amazing to find out the little details, like she spoke Arabic; she loved cats; or that her beehive was a wig. Juanita was a smart, open-minded, courageous and powerful woman whom I hope The Beehive does justice to.”
ACMI Director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick said:

“Zanny Begg’s The Beehive is a shifting and dynamic examination of an unsolved mystery, a cinematic hybrid of historical and contemporary issues. We’re thrilled that the inaugural Artbank + ACMI Commission is such a genre-defying and multi-layered work featuring screen industry icons such as Pamela Rabe and Nicolas Hope. Our commissioning program seeks to support artists working at the juncture of art and technology and The Beehive is a fantastic example.”

Tony Stephens, Director of Artbank said:
“Zanny Begg’s The Beehive is a rousing cinematic feat in which the past and present collide. For the inaugural Artbank + ACMI Commission, it demonstrates how support, when aligned with ambition, can result in significant outcomes. The first of three commissions conceived to support Australian artists and filmmakers working and the nexus of art and film, The Beehive is an incredible accomplishment by Zanny; combining technology, art, politics and pleasure. We are very excited to have it as part of the Artbank collection.”

The Beehive: Who Killed Juanita Neilsen by Zanny Begg
31 July – 4 November 2018
www.acmi.net.au/beehive

The enduring fascination with Carroll’s stories and characters uniquely traces the evolution of filmmaking, providing the perfect subject matter for Australia’s national film museum, ACMI, to illustrate our ongoing fascination with new visual technologies over more than a century. From the earliest optical toys to silent film, animation, puppetry, live-action cinema, videogames, CGI, 3D and beyond, WONDERLAND explores how the moving image has kept Alice and her stories in the public consciousness, reinvented in contemporary contexts and mediums.

“This latest ACMI-created Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition showcases the moving image adaptations of Carroll’s seminal works through celebrating the evolution of filmmaking, from the earliest optical toys through to new technologies,” said ACMI CEO & Director, Katrina Sedgwick. “With WONDERLAND ACMI has created an interactive exhibition where audiences explore the magic of film craft and its integral role embedding this much-loved story in our imaginations for generations.”

Commencing in Lewis Carroll’s drawing room, visitors are handed their own Lost Map of Wonderland, a physical and digital device unlocking surprising experiences during their exhibition journey and beyond. With their interactive map in hand, visitors wander the world of Wonderland, losing themselves in the Hallway of Doors, playing at the Queen’s Croquet Ground and taking part in a magical Mad Hatter’s Tea Party that comes to life before their very eyes. Along the way they will find more than 300 unique objects sourced from all around the world including first edition publications and illustrations, magic lantern projectors, concept drawings, animation cels, spectacular costumes, puppets, props and more.

Rich with inspiration for visual interpretation, Carroll’s tales have been the subject of more than 40 films and over 30 television programs. Today Alice remains an icon; omnipresent and continually relevant through her presence across music videos, video games, high fashion and advertising. WONDERLAND takes audiences on Alice’s journey through popular culture, demonstrating how artists, filmmakers and fans have returned to her story with the help of screen technologies for more than a century.

From the first screen adaptation by Cecil M Hepworth in 1903 to Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), WONDERLAND reveals the development of special effects from pre-cinematic entertainment to silent film, animation to puppetry, live-action cinema, videogames, CGI, 3D and beyond. Among the films featured; Norman Z McLeod’s 1933 version featuring a young Cary Grant; Lou Bunin’s Alice Au Pays des Merveilles (1949) which almost did not make it to the screen; Jan Svankmajer’s acclaimed Alice (1988); the Quay Brothers’ experimental Alice in Not So Wonderland (2007); and television versions by the BBC and NBC, and much more.

Made in Melbourne by the team at ACMI, this wholly original exhibition brings the museum’s extensive creative and curatorial expertise together with a leading team of Australian collaborators, creating an immersive experience complete with playful environments and bespoke digital activities that draw upon the wonder and curiosity of Carroll’s stories. Together with ACMI curators Jessica Bram and Sarah Tutton, exhibition and theatrical designer Anna Tregloan, digital creative studios Sandpit, Grumpy Sailor and Mosster Studio, sound designer Byron Scullin and composer Cornel Wilczek, as well as lighting designer Niklas Pajanti, have designed an interactive world to delight and surprise adults and children alike.

A must-see this winter, the world premiere season of ACMI’s WONDERLAND exhibition will run from Thursday 5 April to Sunday 7 October 2018.

Wonderland Exhibition
ACMI Melbourne
5 April – 7 October 2018
www.acmi.net.au

Studies on the Ecology of Drama is a four-screen installation by renowned Finnish filmmaker and artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila.

Against the backdrop of the Finnish countryside, a ‘human actor’ guides us through a series of thoughtful yet playful visual exercises. Through meditative animation and visual effects we’re invited to consider how cinema constructs our relationship to nature.

Featuring a juniper tree, a common swift, a horse, a butterfly and a group of acrobats, the work encourages us to imagine how the moving image can be used to explore the experience of non-human beings in this time of ecological crisis.

Eija-Liisa Ahtila: Studies on the Ecology of Drama
5 December 2017 – 25 February 2018
ACMI, Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au