Celebrating Asian cinema and culture in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs

Melbourne’s eastern suburbs are recognised for strong ties to Asian culture, regularly hosting some of the city’s most dynamic cultural events and community-led initiatives to honour and celebrate traditions of east and southeast Asia. 

Festivals like the Japan Festival and Lunar New Year in Box Hill proudly celebrate intercultural connection and community, while local cinemas and film festivals also feature a wide range of Asian titles. 

Held each May at Box Hill Town Hall, the Japan Festival offers a diverse program including kimono displays, Taiko drumming and Shamisen music, which draw in thousands of attendees each year. The festival began in the mid-1980s in a Camberwell church, later moving to Box Hill with the help of the mayor. 

Japan Club of Victoria’s Secretary General, Naoko Saito, said the festival had humble beginnings.

“In the 1990s, Japanese food and culture were not very well known in Australia,” he said. “Now, when people hear ‘Japan Festival’ they think of sushi, tempura, yakitori, yakisoba.

This year’s festival is on Sunday May 25. 

Organised by the Asian Business Association of Whitehorse (ABAW), the Box Hill Lunar New Year Festival is one of Victoria’s largest multicultural celebrations, drawing in more than 100,000 attendees annually.

The festival began in the early 2000s and features lanterns, lion dances, fireworks and a broad program of traditional performances.

“In 2024, we introduced fireworks for the first time, and in 2025 we hosted our biggest event yet, welcoming the Prime Minister of Australia and the Ambassador of China,” said ABAW Vice President, Richard Shi.

Led by the Melbourne Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, the Moon Festival celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival with mooncakes, storytelling and folk music. Held in September, the event includes lanterns and cultural performances, showcasing Taiwanese traditions and celebrating the community. 

Meanwhile, cinemas in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs have become hubs for Asian cinema. Village Cinemas Century City in Glen Waverley screens a wide array of foreign films, while HOYTS Forest Hill showcases a curated Chinese Cinema Collection and films from India, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and beyond.