Whistle

Welcome to the Masters of Musical Whistling, where the competitors require monumental skill, massive determination and a mighty wind.

The Masters of Musical Whistling is an international competition that celebrates, well, whistling – at an elite level. Every two years, dedicated and supremely talented whistlers converge on Hollywood to showcase their art and, hopefully, whistle up a coveted trophy. The 2023 competitors include global whistling superstar Molly Lewis, who features on the Barbie soundtrack; Spaniard Ayna, who’s inherited her circus-performing parent’s charismatic stage presence; and Yuki, a Japanese whistling prodigy sick of being the runner-up. They’re all here because Carole Anne Kaufman, founder of the Masters and two-time world champion, wants to change how the world thinks about whistling.

Thanks to Australian director Christopher Nelius, she just might. With genuine affection and care, Nelius (Girls Can’t Surf; Buoy, MIFF 2017) documents high and low notes for Kaufman and her competitors, on and offstage. Nelius clearly understands the visual language of the mockumentary; but while many of his subjects wouldn’t be out of place in a Christopher Guest film, there’s no mockery here. Instead, he respectfully centres this community’s incredible artistry through all the tears, bruised egos, heartaches and soaring joys. Funny, poignant and wonderfully weird, Whistle is a treat from start to finish – and, perhaps, just what the world needs right now.

Content: Melbourne International Film Festival