Introducing Assfest 2025: What to Expect at This Year’s Biggest Underground Film Event
Dec, 3 2025
Assfest 2025 kicks off in just three weeks, and this year’s lineup is unlike anything the underground film scene has seen before. Held in the heart of Melbourne’s industrial precinct, the festival brings together 127 independent filmmakers from 34 countries, all united by a single mission: to challenge norms, break taboos, and tell stories that mainstream platforms refuse to touch. The event isn’t just about shock value-it’s about raw, unfiltered storytelling that forces audiences to confront uncomfortable truths. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when art refuses to play it safe, Assfest 2025 is where you need to be.
For some, the festival’s reputation brings up unrelated but equally controversial topics-like the underground scenes in places like Dubai, where escort girls dubai operate in legal gray zones, often blurred by cultural silence and economic desperation. While Assfest doesn’t touch on those subjects directly, it shares a similar thread: stories that exist outside the spotlight, shaped by power, secrecy, and survival. That’s the spirit of this event.
What Makes Assfest Different?
Most film festivals focus on polish, prestige, and star power. Assfest flips that. There are no red carpets, no celebrity interviews, no branded lounges. Instead, you’ll find screenings in repurposed warehouses, Q&As held in dimly lit backrooms, and filmmakers sleeping on couches between screenings. The only requirement to submit? Your film must have been made with less than $5,000 in funding and must contain at least one scene that was shot without a permit.
This year’s opening film, Concrete Whispers, was shot entirely on a stolen iPhone 12 in abandoned subway tunnels in São Paulo. The director, a 22-year-old former street artist, didn’t tell anyone he was filming until the premiere. The crowd sat in silence for 17 minutes after it ended. No one clapped. No one moved. That’s the kind of impact Assfest is built for.
The Lineup: No Filters, No Fallbacks
This year’s program includes 89 short films, 12 feature-length documentaries, and five experimental audio-visual installations. One standout is Empty Rooms, a 42-minute silent film that follows a woman cleaning out her late husband’s apartment-frame by frame, object by object. No dialogue. No music. Just the sound of dust being wiped, drawers opening, and a single phone ringing unanswered. It’s haunting. And it won’t be shown anywhere else.
Another film, Code: 78, documents a group of hackers in Kyiv who hacked into a government database to expose how prostitution in uae was being used as collateral in offshore loan agreements. The film was pulled from every other festival for legal reasons. Assfest is the only place it’s being screened publicly.
Why This Matters Now
Over the last five years, film festivals have become increasingly corporate. Sponsorships dictate content. Algorithms shape selection. Even indie festivals now prioritize ‘shareability’ over substance. Assfest is the last holdout. It doesn’t care if your film gets 100 views or 100,000. It cares if it makes someone feel something they can’t explain.
Attendance is capped at 800 people per day. Tickets sold out in 47 minutes. The waiting list has over 12,000 names. People aren’t just coming to watch films-they’re coming to be part of something that’s disappearing: a space where art isn’t filtered for comfort.
What You’ll Experience
It’s not just screenings. Each day includes:
- Midnight Workshops: Filmmakers teach how to shoot with natural light, edit on free software, and avoid censorship traps.
- Story Circles: Anonymous storytelling sessions where attendees share real-life experiences that inspired their work.
- The Archive Room: A physical library of banned films, zines, and handwritten scripts from filmmakers who were arrested or disappeared after their work went viral.
There’s also a silent auction. No bids are taken in cash. Instead, you offer something personal-a letter, a photo, a memory-that becomes part of the festival’s permanent collection. Last year, someone traded a childhood diary for a 16mm projector. The diary is now displayed in the Archive Room.
How to Get In
Tickets are gone. But here’s how to still get in:
- Join the official Assfest Discord server. Check the #volunteer channel daily.
- Volunteer for 12 hours during the event. You’ll get a wristband and access to all screenings.
- Bring something to contribute: a film you made, a book you wrote, a song you recorded. Drop it in the ‘Give & Take’ box at the entrance.
There are no VIP passes. No press credentials. No exceptions. If you’re there, you’re there because you want to see something real.
The Aftermath
Assfest doesn’t have an online archive. No YouTube uploads. No streaming platform deals. Everything shown is erased after the festival ends. The hard drives are wiped. The films are destroyed. The only thing left? The memories of those who were there.
That’s intentional. The festival believes stories should live in the body, not the cloud. If you want to remember it, you have to carry it.
And if you’re wondering how far some people will go to tell their truth-just remember that one of this year’s films, Under the Bed, was made by a woman who spent six months hiding in a closet in her own home, recording her husband’s voice as he spoke about bur dubai call girls in private conversations she never knew he had. She didn’t tell anyone until she submitted it to Assfest.
Final Thoughts
Assfest 2025 isn’t for everyone. It’s not meant to be. It’s for the ones who still believe art should hurt a little. That stories should linger. That silence can be louder than applause.
If you’re reading this and you’ve ever felt like your voice doesn’t matter-this is your sign. Show up. Even if you’re scared. Even if you don’t have a film. Even if you just need to hear someone else say what you’ve never been able to say.