One of my favourite times of year is August. Not only is it pleasantly cold, windy and rainy, but Melbourne’s film festival is on, which means I can spend all my money in just a few short weeks.

Unfortunately this year I haven’t been able to see as many films as I would have liked, given that I’m trying to work 21 hours a week around my uni schedule. But I was always going to find time to see The Skeleton Twins. Directed by Craig Johnson and staring two of the funniest actors to ever work on Saturday Night Live, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, The Skeleton Twins was hilarious without taking away from the darker undertones. I’m not a reviewer, and I love Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader too much to be unbiased, but in my opinion, The Skeleton Twins is a masterpiece.

So far this MIFF, I have only seen two films, the one mentioned above, and a Jean-Luc Godard film which was an amazing experiment of overlapping 2D and 3D cinema. Tomorrow night I will see probably my last film of the festival, a documentary concerning a group of American soldiers who killed Afghan civilians before planting weapons on their bodies so that they looked like terrorists. This film will be especially interesting given that I am currently half way through Hillary Clinton’s latest memoir, where not a single criticism of America’s foreign policy has appeared thus far.

For me, MIFF is a perfect opportunity to see films I know I will love, and a great way to expose myself to the type of cinema I wouldn’t normally be seeing. If you haven’t experienced the festival yet, pick up a guide and pick a film, otherwise you will be waiting for winter to roll back around again.

The image above belongs to Duplass Brothers Productions. All copyrights go to the original owner.