There was a time when I looked forward to the brown paper packages sent by kind relatives from Hong Kong. They contained the badly dubbed video cassettes that provided me with an alternative source of entertainment to the white dominated screen culture of the Australian mainstream. These fragments from beyond came in the form of Canto-pop movie stars, martial arts epics set in Imperial China, and Hong Kong Triad gun battle showdowns that were usually too graphic for my sensitive nature as a child.

Since then, SBS, satellite television and DVD imports have somewhat bridged the gap between a truly eclectic and innovative film world that circulates just outside our doorsteps, and the persistent uniformity of commercial fare in Australia derived mainly from anglophone markets. Yet it takes an event like the Melbourne International Film Festival to show how much we miss out on by marginalising cultural exchange between Asia and Australia.

From its inception, the Regional Focus program at MIFF has offered filmgoers a snapshot of the state of cinema in the Asia-Pacific region. This year, 16 films have been chosen as exemplary works that contribute to the vitality of the cultural output from Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. (Japan is a notable exception to this group, as new Japanese cinema is featured in a separate program Brain Monkey Sushi).

The selection signals the accomplishments of emergent film-makers as they lead the charge for their burgeoning local film industries (Royston Tan, Eric Khoo), while showcasing the maturation of established directors as they navigate the difficult terrain of consolidating on their previous achievements (Tsui Hark, Park Chan-Wook). Genre pieces featuring flawed heroes, mutant monsters and revenge-driven individuals share the screen with more nuanced explorations of contemporary life in the Asia-Pacific.

Such is the pace of social upheaval in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan that MIFF has programmed a special focus called Transience: The Asian Metropolis. The films in this section respond to the social, political and cultural changes that have transformed these locales from colonially exploited trading outposts to ultra-modern cosmopolitan societies.

According to the slogan of this year’s Festival, it’s a long way from Hollywood. Yet despite our close geographical proximity, the distance between Asia and Australia seems even greater as mainstream Australian culture obstinately looks to Euro-American markets as the measure of success. This does not have to be the only way.

Consider the trajectory of a last-minute addition to this year’s MIFF guest list, Christopher Doyle. Doyle left his suburban existence of 1970s Sydney to explore the world, ending up in Hong Kong where he became recognised for his work as Wong Kar Wai’s cinematographer. His most recent collaboration with Thai film-maker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Invisible Waves, is screening at this year’s Festival. Notable actors from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand come together in this film, conversing in broken English as they come to terms with the circumstances that have taken them away from home.

In fact, the use of multiple languages is becoming more prevalent in Asian cinema as film-makers pool the resources and talent from Pan-Asia. It is a remarkable cross-cultural mix that is taking place. Australian voices have yet to really join this conversation’at a time when even Hollywood has its own share of Asian influences’but events like MIFF ensure that we are not left out of the loop altogether. I, too, try to engage with Asia in my own way with my broken Cantonese picked up all those years ago from those video cassettes. But it’s never too late for anyone to start enjoying the Asian selection at this year’s MIFF.