Waititi's new film to play Melbourne festival opening night

Taika Waititi

The award-winning new film by Oscar-nominated Wellington director Taika Waititi will play on opening night of the Melbourne International Film Festival next month.

Tama Tu, an 18-minute film set in Italy during World War 2, plays on opening night at Australia's most popular festival along with the Australian movie Little Fish, starring Cate Blanchett.

Tama Tu is set around young Maori Battalion soldiers waiting for night to fall in the ruins of a war-torn Italian home, according to the New Zealand Film Commission website.

They keep themselves amused with jokes and laughter while trying to ignore the reminders of war around them, but a sign brings them back to the reality around them.

Tama Tu is Waititi's follow-up to Two Cars, One Night, which was nominated for an Oscar for best short film this year.

It has already played at film festivals around the world, winning the special jury prize at the Berlin Film Festival in January and earned an honourable mention in short filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival.

Tama Tu will also play at the New Zealand Film Festival, which begins in Auckland next month.

More than 400 films from 50 countries will show at the Melbourne Festival, which attracted 178,000 admissions last year.

- AAP