Melbourne's most mind-bending film festival is set to return, transforming the city's Planetarium into a portal for avant-garde cinema and cultural storytelling.
The Dome Under Film Festival, running from January 31 to February 2, will project 32 boundary-pushing films across the Planetarium‘s 16-metre domed ceiling, creating what organisers describe as a VR-like journey into experimental filmmaking.
In its most ambitious program to date, the festival draws together works from 15 countries, spanning genres from astronomical exploration to Indigenous storytelling. The expanded 2025 edition marks the first time the festival will kick off on a Friday night, offering more sessions than ever before.
Dome Under Film Festival
- January 31 to February 2, 2025
- Melbourne Planetarium, Scienceworks, 2 Booker Street, Spotswood
- Tickets are on sale now
Explore Melbourne’s latest arts and stage news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
View this post on Instagram
Festival founder and Museums Victoria curator Warik Lawrance says the event represents a radical departure from traditional cinema.
“Dome Under Film Festival, through its extraordinary fusion of art, technology and cinema, is a gateway to new worlds and ideas. The immersive dome environment offers a truly unique platform for filmmakers to explore innovative storytelling possibilities and spark conversations,” he says.
Among the headline attractions is U221E, a Mexican meditation on infinity from F3 Studio, while Polish creator Ari Dykier’s Within promises to guide viewers through an emotional odyssey exploring fear, passion and calm.
The program also foregrounds Indigenous perspectives, with takila milaythina-ti | Heart in Country offering an intimate glimpse into the customs of Tasmania’s palawa community. Meanwhile, Canadian production This Is Not a Ceremony employs trickster poets to navigate challenging narratives about Indigenous experiences.
Adding to the celestial vibes, festival-goers can get up close with Museum of the Moon, a four-metre installation bringing lunar topography into startling focus in the Planetarium foyer.
The festival’s state-of-the-art 5.1 surround sound system completes the immersive experience, creating what promises to be Melbourne’s most transporting cinema event of the summer.
Tickets to the Dome Under Film Festival are on sale now. Browse the full program and grab yours here.
