New Zealand International Film Festival announces first batch of movies

Leonard Cohen with his guitar ready to go out on tour, circa late-2000s. Photo / courtesy of the Cohen Estate

Assassinations, authors, bad bosses and good ol' fashioned rock 'n' roll all feature in the first batch of movies being announced for this year's New Zealand International Film Festival.

It's an impressive initial line-up that's sure to tickle the fancy of film lovers around Aotearoa.

Music fans are well catered for with two must-see docos being announced. The first, Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song, is a deep dive into the beloved singer-songwriter's life cast against the background of his most famous song, while Meet Me in the Bathroom takes you back to the early '00s and the glory years of New York's second wave of garage rockers.

There's also the doco Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time by frequent Curb Your Enthusiasm director Robert B. Weide which is about the life of the renowned satirical author.

For something more serious there's Navalny, a harrowing documentary about the attempted assassination of Alexei Navalny, the leader of Russia's opposition political party, which will hit with an even heavier resonance in light of current world affairs.

Back in the world of fiction is three heavy hitters. First up is Javier Bardem's dark comedy The Good Boss, which is about a boss that's anything but. It's already won a factory full of awards around the world. Next is British director Clio Barnard's acclaimed Ali & Ava, a movie about a forbidden affair that's been called a "charming and heartfelt drama".

And wrapping up this first announcement, from France is the seven-time 2022 Cesar Award-winning adaptation of Balzac's classic novel Lost Illusions.

The NZIFF opens in Auckland on Thursday, July 28 followed by the rest of the country in August.