"New Zealand-based American filmmaker Jake Mahaffy clearly had fun creating this two-and-a-half minute adventure story about a knight in shining armour," reviewer Kim Adelman wrote.
"It's a textbook example of how to do a concise short - and get laughs."
Mahaffy, who's a lecturer at Auckland University's media, film and television department, says the film almost didn't get finished.
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"I let the footage sit around, never thinking I'd be able to actually finish the film," he said.
But thanks to support from the New Zealand Film Commission and Peter Jackson's post-production unit Park Road, he was able to afford to get the visuals completed.
Three Kiwi productions or co-productions will premiere over the festival, including A.D. 1363, Slow West, and New Zealand-Canada co-production Turbo Kid.
A scene from Turbo Kid.
Z for Zachariah, which was filmed in New Zealand and People, Places, Things, which stars Jemaine Clement, will also be shown at the festival.
"The significance and achievement of selection to our filmmakers, and when using that term I mean all the cast and crew involved in the productions, cannot be underestimated," New Zealand Film Commission spokeswoman Jasmin McSweeney said.
She said A.D. 1363 was fun, universal, and deserving of the attention it was getting.
Sixty shorts and 127 feature films will be shown at this year's festival which runs until February 1.
- AAP
