Melbourne International Film Festival will open on July 25th with much lauded and always debated Michael Moore's latest offering Sicko, which had its world premiere at last month's Cannes Film Festival. "Sicko proves the power of documentary to place important issues on the social and political agenda - I can't say I've always agreed with him, particularly the ethics of that scene with Charlton Heston, but this is Mike Moore in vintage form. Sicko is brilliant in its execution, full of humour and intelligence", said Executive Director Richard Moore.

The festival will draw to a close on August 12th with the poetic and powerful This Is England from filmmaker Shane Meadows. Set against the braces and boots of Maggie Thatcher's Britain, This is England rolls out over the long weeks of summer school holidays, based on filmmaker Shane Meadows' own life story.

The 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival will screen over 300 films, including 9 World Premieres and a number of prize-winning films from World-Class festivals. The programme will once again feature the work of world-renowned filmmakers, and more than a couple of unknown gems, in its popular Homegrown and Neighbourhood Watch, Jaguar International Panorama, Backbeat, Animation Gallery, and Documentaries, as well as the most highly regarded short film competition in the Asia Pacific, BigPond best MIFF shorts screens approximately 100 short films, competing for a prize money of AUD$35,000.

New program strands this year include:
• AFRICA! AFRICA! - MIFF continues its tradition of exploring unchartered waters by presenting an array of features and documentaries from Africa.
• STARS OF DAVID - Israeli cinema has undergone a renaissance in the last few years, both with domestic audiences and on the international festival circuit.
• WORLD STORIES - Indigneous peoples from around the world tell their own stories in their own way.
• FULL MOON FEVER - Recoil in horror from these things that go bump in the night. Warning: Not for the squeamish.
• FORBIDDEN PLEASURES - The temptations of the flesh (and other titillations) are explored through this provocative selection.
• EURO DEBUT - A selection of the most highly acclaimed debut features of the year - the defining works of the new cinema of Europe.
• RETROSPECT ON SHOHEI IMAMURA - MIFF will screen eight films by filmmaker Imamura, one of the most important and idiosyncratic filmmakers in the history of Japanese cinema.
• RETROSEPCT ON HIROKAZU KORE-EDA - In this special filmmaker spotlight, MIFF salutes Kore-eda's career as a writer, director and editor of highly challenging, independent Japanese cinema largely examining issues of memory, loss and death.
• NEXT GEN - MIFF is recruiting for a new generation of festival goers in the Next Gen spotlight. Films from many different cultures and languages make up the program for ages 6-10 and for the 14+.
• MAGNUM IN MOTION - Started by the duo of Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa, the MAGNUM photgraphic agency became known for its social conscience.