Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala

Acacia, 20, is in the midst of a messy break-up after cheating on her girlfriend. Since moving out of home three years earlier, she has grown apart from her father, 55-year-old Rob, who longs for a stronger relationship with her. The two agree to go camping together to catch up, but there’s one major barrier to their emotional reconnection: Acacia hasn’t yet come out to him. Halfway through the trip, Rob takes a walk on his own and stumbles upon a young boy by himself – an encounter that takes him on a journey of self-reflection, enabling father and daughter to finally open up to one another.

An isolated guy with cerebral palsy is railroaded into helping an unassertive comedienne, and finds love and acceptance through stand-up comedy.

Determined to find out the true effects of marijuana on the human body, stand-up comedian and former Stoner of the Year Doug Benson documents his experience avoiding pot for 30 days and then consuming massive amounts of the drug for 30 days. More than just an amusing story of one man's quest to get superhigh, this documentary also examines the hotly contested debate over medical marijuana use.

Based on the infamous Great Emu War of 1932, THE EMU WAR follows a rag tag platoon of soldiers who are driven into a brutal and bloody battle against Australia's deadliest flightless beasts. Haunted by the kidnapping of his son at the hands of the Emus, Major Meredith leads the platoon behind enemy lines in order to kill the emus Leader the Queen Emu.

A country football coach who has a plan to rebuild the local football team by recruiting recently settled asylum seekers.

Australian small-town cop Gary enjoys his nearly pastoral existence, with traffic violations providing the major excitement to his normally low-key days. While away from work, Gary spends a good deal of time fantasizing about local news reporter Julia, who would just as soon relocate to the thriving metropolis of Sydney. Soon, however, a motorcyclist is found decapitated, with a construction worker, a sailor, and a cowboy and Indian also meeting the same fate. With some murderous weirdo with some sort of Village People fixation terrorizing the town, Gary -- with the help of big-wig city detective and Don Johnson-wannabe Tony Charles -- begins to realize that a cop is the last remaining victim to be murdered in order for the killings to be complete. ...

Dougie Waters loves nothing more than a weekend barbie and cricket match with his mates. But his paradise on earth is destroyed when his best mate and neighbour Norm is forced to leave town and their new boss, a pompous English administrator called Edward Lords, moves in. The animosity between the two men peaks during one fateful backyard cricket match when Dougie hits a ball that accidentally stuns Edward's prize winning cat, Dexter. The cat falls into the roaring BBQ and is instantly incinerated, leaving only ashes. Dougie's son captures footage of the unfortunate event on camera and it is uploaded onto YouTube where the video instantly goes viral! The idea of a backyard cricketing challenge is hatched, with the winner keeping the ashes of Edward's deceased cat, Dexter. The two teams battle it out in the greatest game of backyard cricket ever for the Backyard Ashes.

A coming of age story about the quirky lives of car salesman.

A selection of comics from the Montreal International Comedy Festival

Electric Apricot is a spoof of jam bands centered on the titular band, presented in the style of "This Is Spinal Tap."

After losing everything when his crypto investments collapse, San Francisco trader Brendan Brandon inherits his missing uncle's Australian macadamia farm, only to find that a quick sale is blocked by an unexpected legal caveat and a group of ruthless New Zealand frackers.

Kitty Flanagan is Charming and Alarming in her first ever DVD release. As one of Australia’s best known female comedians, Kitty has constantly been on the box, firstly appearing in Full Frontal and now a regular on such shows as Good News Week, Spicks and Specks and a weekly spot on The 7pm Project. Charming and Alarming features her hour long stand-up routine by the same name and also bonus features including past performances on GNW, Full Frontal and Kitty interviewing Kitty!

Behind the scenes look at the cult comedy series about Kiwi folk musicians Bret and Jemaine trying to make it big in their adopted home of New York. It follows the duo in the United States before and after the release of the first series, as they speak candidly about the road to fame, and we meet the other personalities, cast and crew that helped make their show a smash hit in America, NZ and the rest of the world. As Bret McKenzie's long-term partner, director Hannah Clarke was in a unique position to gain access to the Conchords at their most relaxed, as well as their most frantic and exhausted, and was able to get an up-close-and-personal glimpse into this experience. Through her insider's eye we are granted an intimate look into the lives of this great comedy act and discover how they won the hearts of America.

Kitty returns with her highly anticipated new show and this time she answers all the difficult questions, such as 'What's wrong with teenagers?' and 'Should cabaret be against the law?'

Over four years I have developed the best show about heavy metal you have ever seen. I've toured it round the world, added a full-on death metal backing band, expanded it, honed it and even written a bestselling book based on it. Now it's time to film that show, so I can capture the magic and then finally put it to rest. Yeah, I could do it shit and just upload it on YouTube and hope some of you see it. But that's not good enough. Not for this show. Not for HEAVY METAL.

Documents the life and work of cult SF author and philosopher Jeff Lint, creator of some of the strangest and most inventive works of the 20th century. Featuring clips from Lint's books, cartoons, music, comics and films, the movie follows Lint's life from the days of vintage pulp, psychedelia and his disastrous scripts for Star Trek and Patton. Newly discovered archive footage and recordings of Lint himself, and commentary by those who knew and read him, results in a compelling portrait of the creator of Clowns and Insects, Jelly Result, The Stupid Conversation, the Caterer comic, and Catty and the Major, the scariest kids' cartoon ever aired.

How can there be so much fun and learning in just 75 minutes? Seriously? You'll Discover everything there is to know about dating a "pleeceman". Learn how to keep a straight face when doctors use proper words like anus and areola. Find out why dog people are the new cat people, why old people love salt so much and why it's time newsreaders gave up and let Kitty Flanagan read the nightly news. Plus special guest star Penny Flanagan joins to pay musical tribute to the demographic most often overlooked by songwriters - the formidable middle age lady.

Kitty presents the World Premiere of her latest stand-up special 'Smashing', streamed directly to your home. Filmed live before lockdown at the Riverside Theatre, don't miss this one night only live on-line comedy event! Love songs, sex, algorithms, chimps, clowns and psychics, everything is getting "smashed". Smashing. It's fun AND learning. Maybe get the kids out of the house for this one, unless you fancy them getting a real Flanagan style education.

An exploration of the work of a new generation of young Muslim artists, who use their work to explore issues of faith and identity and what it means to be Muslim and Australian in the 21st century.

When a fire destroys Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco, defiant owner Tom Sawyer and his crew of comedians rebuild it, hoping to revive the struggling indie comedy scene.

How does a working class autodidact, with no visible means of support, maintain his role as the leader of a cult British underground band into its fifth decade? Comedian and writer Stewart Lee, director Michael Cumming and James Nicholls investigate the mysterious existence of Robert Lloyd, Britain’s ultimate post-punk survivor. Robert Lloyd’s Prefects played with The Clash on the White Riot tour in 1977, and their ongoing incarnation, as Birmingham’s Captain Beefheart suffused post-punk poets The Nightingales, recorded more John Peel sessions than any other band. Ever. But what were the social, cultural and economic circumstances that enabled and sustained such outsider artists in the punk and post-punk eras, and how has the world changed to the point where such figures are unlikely to flourish in the same way today? Lloyd’s own odyssey echoes how abstract notions of social mobility, of the value of culture and music, have changed in the last five decades.

As musical theatre superstar Valerie Broom juggles her career, motherhood, and an ambitious understudy, the arrival of live-in nanny Grace disrupts their family dynamics, exposing a disturbing secret.