The Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) kicks off at the end of the month, and organisers have just released the full programme of feature films, documentaries and short films chosen for this year’s events.
The Whānau Mārama NZ International Film Festival (NZIFF) is preparing to screen 105 films from over 20 countries from July 31. Directors are bringing their work from places as far afield as Europe (UK, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, France), Iran, Somalia, and the United States, Asia (China, Bhutan, Japan, Nepal, Vietnam) and Australia.
There will be plenty of New Zealand-made films being celebrated as well, with programmes such as Māhutongaand the Aotearoa Film Focus Weekend (AFFW) giving our homegrown film-makers some well-deserved time in the spotlight. Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures will have a special screening to mark the film’s 30th anniversary.
Opening in Wellington on July 31, the film festival has a wide-ranging programme designed to showcase the raw talent of a growing number of filmmakers at home and abroad and connect them to Kiwi audiences.
NZIFF screenings will be held in nine centres, with theatres in Auckland, Dunedin, Nelson, Christchurch, Tauranga, Napier, Hamilton, New Plymouth, and Masterton likely expecting an influx of cinema-goers throughout the period.
Cinephiles will be looking forward to the several scheduled sub-programmes that focus on unique film styles and approaches. The Fresh Competition segment lines up 10 feature-length films competing for the best narrative debut, the Frames Competition is a collection of eight genre-bending documentaries, and Portraits takes a closer look at eight character-driven films that examine and critique the human experience.
The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat.
The Māhutonga segment shows off 12 feature-length films and 19 shorts made exclusively by Kiwis, with the films chosen by artistic director Paolo Bertolin and head of programming Michael McDonnell. The shorts were selected by veteran co-curators Leo Koziol and Craig Fasi, along with guest selector Gerard Johnstone.
A special celebration of New Zealand film will also be held at Auckland’s ASB Waterfront Theatre from August 15-18. Called the Aotearoa Film Focus Weekend (AFFW), attendees will be treated to a curated selection of Kiwi films and an exhibition by the Cinematographers Society. There’ll be the opportunity to participate in panel discussions, workshops, a masterclass, and a Q&A session with the filmmakers over the four-day session.
Bertolin said AFFW aims to put a “spotlight on the vivid resurgence of local cinema”, which is being driven by both experienced directors and new industry players. “We wish to engage audiences, especially young people, with New Zealand cinema, creating a dialogue that goes beyond the sheer screening of films. And we hope that this connection will last beyond the festival, truly benefiting both filmmakers and audiences.”
Now that the full programme has been released, you can plan your trip to NZIFF. If you’re tagging along this year, we’ve rounded up a guide to what’s screening at the festival, the programmes available, and where you can watch.
What’s screening at NZIFF 2024?
Programmes
Big Nights
The 2024 opening and closing films:
We Were Dangerous, directed by Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu (Opening Night all regions except Christchurch)
Head South, directed by Jonathan Ogilvie (Christchurch Opening Night)
The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat (Closing Night all regions)
Never Look Away, directed by Lucy Lawless.
Māhutonga
While Matariki ushers the sun to its dawn rising, Māhutonga – the Southern Cross, stands sentinel in the evening sky, shining the way to our storytellers from Aotearoa, both narrative and documentary, including three short film programmes, Short Connections 2024, Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2024 and New Zealand’s Best 2024:
30th Anniversary Screening of Heavenly Creatures, directed by Peter Jackson
Alien Weaponry: Kupu Te Ara, directed by Kent Belcher
Grafted, directed by Sasha Rainbow
The Haka Party Incident, directed by Katie Wolfe
The House Within, directed by Joshua Prendeville
Marimari, directed by Paul Wolffram
A Mistake, directed by Christine Jeffs
Never Look Away, directed by Lucy Lawless
Taki Rua Theatre – Breaking Barriers, directed by Whetū Fala
Naughty Little Peeptoe, directed by Kiwis Garth Maxwell and Peter Wells.
Exclusive to the Aotearoa Film Focus Weekend (AFFW)
New Zealand film will be celebrated at a special Aotearoa Film Focus Weekend (August 15-18) at Auckland’s ASB Waterfront Theatre:
I Am a Dark River, directed by Tessa Mitchell
Night Piece, directed by Bridget Sutherland
Naughty Little Peeptoe, directed by Garth Maxwell and Peter Wells
Brief History of a Family, directed by Chinese filmmaker Lin Jianjie.
A newly minted competition comprising 10 must-see features lining up some of the best narrative debuts of the past 12 months. Discover the most exciting and promising new voices in international cinema:
Birdeater, directed by Jim Weir & Jack Clark
Brief History of a Family, directed by Lin Jianjie
Dormitory, directed by Nehir Tuna
Good One, directed by India Donaldson
Janet Planet, directed by Annie Baker
Oceans are the Real Continents, directed by Tommaso Santambrogio
The Village Next to Paradise, directed by Mo Harawe
To A Land Unknown, directed by Mahdi Fleifel
Viet and Nam, directed by Trương Minh Quý
Wild Diamond, directed by Agathe Riedinger
The Speedway Murders, directed by Australians Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien.
Frames Competition
A competitive collection of remarkable works that explore and expand the language of documentary filmmaking. Eight films that interrogate reality, experience and facts in engaging and unexpected ways:
Black Box Diaries, directed by Shiori Ito
Grand Theft Hamlet, directed by Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane
Hollywoodgate, directed by Ibrahim Nash’at
My First Film, directed by Zia Anger
Seeking Mavis Beacon, directed by Jazmin Renée Jones
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, directed by Johan Grimonprez
The Mother of All Lies, directed by Asmae El Moudir
The Speedway Murders, directed by Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien
Explanation for Everything, directed by Hungarian filmmaker Gábor Reisz.
Portraits
A gallery of character-driven narrative and documentary films that draw us into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people. Hilarious and moving, these films will reconcile you with the beauty and complexity of being human:
A Different Man, directed by Aaron Schimberg
Dìdi, directed by Sean Wang
Dying, directed by Matthias Glasner
Explanation for Everything, directed by Gábor Reisz
My Favourite Cake, directed by Maryam Moghaddam
Sons, directed by Gustav Möller
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, directed by Peter Ettedgui
The Outrun, directed by Nora Fingscheidt
Tatami, directed by Iranian filmmaker Zar Amir Ebrahami and US-based Israeli director Guy Nativ.
A diverse and engaging panorama of narrative and documentary films that provide snapshots of reality from different corners of the globe; these are films that will spark vibrant conversations about the world we live in:
Black Dog, directed by Guan Hu
Crossing, directed by Levan Akin
Green Border, directed by Agnieszka Holland
No Other Land, directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
Problemista, directed by Julio Torres
Tatami, directed by Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
The Seed of the Sacred Fig, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
The Story of Souleymane, directed by Boris Lojkine
The Teacher’s Lounge, directed by Ilker Çatak
When the Light Breaks, directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson
Cuckoo, directed by German filmmaker Tilman Singer.
Nocturnal
A strand devoted to the kind of cinema flourishing out of dreams – and nightmares. Irreverent genre and out-of- the-box films bound to take you on exhilarating journeys of amusement, fear and awe:
Cuckoo, directed by Tilman Singer
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, directed by Ariane Louis-Seize
I Saw The TV Glow, directed by Jane Schoenbrun
Sasquatch Sunset, directed by David Zellner & Nathan Zellner
Sleep, directed by Jason Yu
The People’s Joker, directed by Vera Drew
The Sweet East, directed by Sean Price Williams
Kneecap, by British-Irish director Rich Peppiatt.
Rhythms
Six narrative and documentary films focused on music and its many forms and styles. This selection highlights the power of music, be it rap or classical, as a tool of enlightenment and liberation:
Eno, directed by Gary Hustwit
Gloria!, directed by Margherita Vicario
In Restless Dreams: the Music of Paul Simon, directed by Alex Gibney
Kneecap, directed by Rich Peppiatt
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, directed by Paul Clarke
Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, directed by Neo Sora
Evil Does Not Exist, directed by Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi.
Critically acclaimed films and contemporary masterpieces gathered for the joy of cinephiles:
All We Imagine is Light, directed by Payal Kapadia
The Beast, directed by Bertrand Bonello
Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop
Evil Does Not Exist, directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis
Grand Tour, directed by Miguel Gomes
Menu-Plaisirs – Les Troigros, directed by Frederick Wiseman
Pepe, directed by Nelson Carlos de los Santos
The Universal Theory, directed by Timm Kröger
The Monk and the Gun, directed by Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji.
Journeys
A special focus on countries and regions whose films emerged as groundbreaking and topical. This year, we zero in on endearing works showing the reality of life in the Himalayas and the thought-provoking and irreverent films out of Norway:
Agent of Happiness, directed by Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó
The Monk and the Gun, directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji
Shambhala, directed by Min Bahadur Bham
Armand, directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, directed by Benjamin Ree
Sex, directed by Dag Johan Haugerud
Peeping Tom, directed by Michael Powell.
Treasures
A selection of hand-picked classics and recently restored films:
American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy, directed by Chantal Akerman
Anguish, directed by Bigas Luna
Days of Heaven, directed by Terrence Malick
Paris, Texas, directed by Wim Wenders
Peeping Tom, directed by Michael Powell
NZIFF 2024 - Participating cinemas
NZIFF 2024 will screen at various cinemas across nine cities and towns in New Zealand:
Embassy Theatre, Roxy Cinemas and Light House Cinema Cuba in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington (July 31 – August 11)
The Civic, Hollywood Avondale and ASB Auckland Waterfront Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (August 7-18)
The Regent Theatre in Ōtepoti Dunedin (August 14-25)
State Cinemas in Whakatū Nelson (14 – 25 August)
Lumière Cinemas in Ōtautahi Christchurch (August 15 – September 1)
Luxe Cinemas in Tauranga Moana (August 15-28)
MTG Century Theatre in Ahuriri Napier (August 21 – September 1)
LIDO Cinemas in Kirikiriroa Hamilton (August 21 – September 4)
Len Lye Cinema in Ngāmotu New Plymouth (August 21 – September 4)
Regent 3 Cinemas in Whakaoriori Masterton (August 21 – September 4).
NZIFF 2024 - Dates and ticketing information
The NZIFF will open in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington on July 31, and it will then tour nine other centres across the country until September 4.
Tickets for Wellington go on sale from 10am on Friday, July 12. Tickets for Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland will be available from 10am on Friday, July 19, with all other centres selling tickets from late July.
Tickets can be booked in person at the NZIFF box office on Allen St, Wellington, and The Civic on Wellesley St West, Auckland. To book online, visit nziff.co.nz.
