New Jebediah Documentary To Premiere At 2026 Melbourne International Film Festival

‘Jebediah: Are We OK?’ is directed by Arlo Dean Cook and features “a wealth” of archival footage and home-movie videos.

Jebediah: Are We OK? documentary still(Credit: Melbourne International Film Festival)

Jebediah are the subject of the forthcoming feature-length documentary film, Jebediah: Are We OK?.

Making its debut at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) as part of the MIFF Premiere Fund, the documentary is set to follow the Perth rockers’ 30-year journey. According to the synopsis, the film will examine the band’s humble beginnings and track the “harder aspects of growing up.”

Upon their formation, Jebediah made a sizable splash in the Australian indie rock music scene in the late-90s and early 2000s. Comprising lead singer Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans), his brother Brett on drums, bassist Vanessa Thornton, and lead guitarist Chris Daymond, the band had an easygoing vibe about them in the early days.

Jebediah quickly amassed national attention on triple j and released a string of acclaimed studio albums through their own record label, looking like industry heroes in the process. But as the documentary synopsis hints, the “freewheeling” days of the past began to impact the band as they entered their third decade.

Jebediah: Are We OK? is directed by Arlo Dean Cook and features “a wealth” of archival footage and home-movie videos that span their high school beginnings to the current day. Plus, fellow Aussie rockers such as Tim Rogers (You Am I), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon), and Janet English (Spiderbait) all speak on their peers’ impact.

Described as a “rocking roller-coaster ride and candid cautionary tale about the price of fame,” Jebediah: Are We OK? is a must-watch. It premieres at the Melbourne International Film Festival this August. Stay tuned to the MIFF website for an official trailer and release date.

Last year, Jebediah commemorated their 30th anniversary with a national tour and vinyl reissue and revisited the archives with an old-school TV advert for Slightly Odway.

“It feels surprisingly not that old, despite the fact that we are all well into our middle ages now,” Mitchell shared upon the tour’s announcement last July.

“Being in this band is like stepping in and out of a time capsule. It doesn’t matter how many years go by, every time we are on stage, or in the studio, or rehearsal room, or just hanging out together, it’s somehow 1995 again, you know?”

He added, “Obviously, our lives have changed immensely, but when you are around lifelong friends, I think there is a part of you that stays the age of your youth. You still relate to each other the same way you did as teenagers. I’m sure anyone who catches up with old school friends would have experienced this a bit. So that’s how it feels. It’s not always easy, but it’s also a gift.”