As August approached, The Perfect Events Group once again entered what we refer to as “The MIFF Bubble”. A space where the only topics of discussions for the month involve gobos, giant letters, red carpets or champagne.

This time around for The Perfect Events Group, the MIFF Bubble sat in amongst a sea of other bubbles including the FIFA Fan Festival Bubble and the Legacy Torch Relay Bubble. We knew 12 months prior that August 2023 was going to be full on with 3 major events all coinciding for PEG, but we were ready to take on the challenge.

The Opening Night

 MIFF Opening Night took place on Thursday 3rd August and set the tone for the 71st festival. Screenings were shown at the Comedy Theatre and The Capitol, with all 1300 guests congregating at The State Library for the after party.

Guests were first greeted by a 40m red carpet that guided them through Redmond Barry and into Cowan Gallery. From here they continued into the La Trobe Ballroom and finally finishing up in Queens Hall to dance the night away on the dance floor.

We pulled inspiration for the party theming from the opening night film Shayda directed by Noora Niasari, which is a film that follows a brave Iranian mother and her daughter as they find refuge in Australia. We dressed the spaces in middle eastern inspired fabrics, florals and decorative lanterns, along with delicate Persian tea cups and pots for guests to help themselves to tea throughout the evening. Persian love cakes, pistachio nougat and Persian fairy floss were served as dessert and all supplied by Hamed’s Persian Kitchen.

Award winning Lebanese Australia DJ, MzRizk curated the musical performances for the evening which included Sepideh who greeted guests on arrival, and Mizagh Zamani who filled the La Trobe Ballroom with his instrumental performances. DJ MzRizk kept the dance floor full for the entire night in front of a stunning Persian inspired floral background by Stasia Fox.

After a collective 200,000 steps from the PEG team, we put opening night behind us and all attention was directed at the Awards & Closing Night Gala which would wrap up the MIFF 2023 festival on Saturday 19th August.

Closing Night

 The MIFF Awards took place at the Forum where a total prize pool of over $300,000 was awarded. Naming partner Champagne Duperrey were prominently displayed upon entrance with an amazing floral photo backdrop that later become a DIY pick and mix bouquet party favour. Both beautiful and sustainable, this was a hit amongst the guests.

Zan Rowe, kicked off the awards as the Master of Ceremonies, and Uncle Bill Nicholson welcomed us to country. After the 5 awards were announced, guests enjoy some more food and drinks, while listening to performances by Halo Ensemble before making their way upstairs to watch the Closing Night film Theatre Camp, a favourite amongst the PEG team.

There was no rest for the PEG team as it was time to flip the room ready for the After Party! Guests arrived from Capitol and ACMI screenings, as the Forum film concluded. DJ Tanzer got the dance floor started and was later joined by “Real Hot Bitches” led by Fierce Brosnan (aka Phil Burns) to show us all how it’s done, or how it isn’t done?

After lots of dancing, the party ended and it was time for the PEG to bump out.

Thanks to Vic, Erin and Mel from the MIFF team.

And with that, another MIFF season comes to an end. (PEG’s twelfth year partnering with the team) See you again in 2024.