Murder City Carnival of Cinema Film Festival Returns This August

Returning after a tremendous 2025 event, the Murder City Carnival of Cinema Film Festival takes over Wallis Cinema Glenelg for three days, from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 August, with a stacked lineup of independent films from Australia and around the world.

Independently produced and curated by Dick Dale, and co-produced by Suzanne Boylene, this third edition of the Murder City Carnival of Cinema Film Festival is shaping up to be the best yet, with a loose theme of girl gangs and bands running through each film screened.

Along with film premieres, there's live music, special guests, prizes and a whole lot of insanity.

Friday is headlined by the gala screening of Josh "Sinbad" Collins' Wolf Cat Fever, a film about rockabilly guitarist Furr Fever and his relationship with the howling, leather-clad Wolfy Howl. Boleyn will host a Q&A with Collins, and Melbourne's garage rock duo Pussy Horse will perform live. Those keen to kick on after can do so at the official afterparty at Bullet Club.

The next night, Dale brings back his Trasharama Film Program LIVE on stage. This one is not for the squeamish as Dale screens 17 sick and twisted short films from across the globe, with special guests the Toilet Rock House band and The Raw Spud Ensemble. There will be prizes and the bar is open for those needing a little Dutch courage to get through the screening.

Saturday also sees the South Australian premiere of Skeleton Girls: A Kidnapped Society, a punk-thrash thriller. There will be a Q&A with director Richard Eames after the screening, along with an afterparty at Low Life Basement Bar featuring Pussy Horse (Vic), White Knuckle Fever (NSW) and Hammer Horrors (SA). Those who attend the screening will get $5 off entry into the afterparty.

The festival concludes on Sunday with an exceptional double bill of Tura! and Faster Pussycat Kill Kill. Directed by Cody Jarrett, Tura! is an authorised biographical documentary about Tura Satana, the Asian American actress who blazed a path through Hollywood and is best known for playing karate-chopping Varla in Russ Meyer’s 1965 cult classic, Faster, Pussycat Kill Kill.

Anyone with a passing interest in film is aware of Meyer's black-and-white classic about three go-go dancers tearing it up on a crime spree across the States. Written, directed and edited by the auteur, Faster, Pussycat Kill Kill is an iconic flick and a suitable sendoff for Murder City Carnivale of Cinema III.

Tickets for all films are on sale now, with a special $30 all-day deal available for those who want to cram as much cinema in as possible. Head to murder-city-carnival.com for more details and to grab your tickets now.

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The first Murder City Carnival of Cinema Film Festival took place way back in 2018 while founder Dick Dale was working on his feature film Ribspreader, Australia's first splatterpunk video nasty that's not for the faint of heart.

Bringing the festival back last year, the event ran across three different cinemas (The Piccadilly Cinema, The Mercury Cinema and the Palace Nova Cinemas) and was headlined by a sold-out screening of I Should Have Been Dead Years Ago.

A veteran of Australian independent cinema, Dale has been running his Trasharama Film Program since 1997, spotlighting Australia's nastiest short films. Hosted by Dale, he calls it "a TEMU version of The Late Show" with plenty of blood and guts.

There is a chance this may be the last edition of the Murder City Carnival of Cinema Film Festival for the foreseeable future, with Dale getting to work on his next feature film, Unchained Heat, so be sure to grab your tickets now and be part of this fantastic indie film fest!

Murder City Carnival of Cinema Film Festival takes place at Wallis Cinema Glenelg from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 August. Tickets on sale now via murder-city-carnival.com.