The Last-Minute New Zealand International Film Festival Flicks Worth Watching This Weekend In Auckland

The Auckland programme, featuring a sparkling breadth ranging from deadpan comedies to operatic dramas, will come to an end on Sunday.

Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival has burned bright in the theatres of Auckland over the last few weeks — however, this weekend brings the festival to the end of its reel. The programme will wrap up (all too soon) on Sunday evening.

If you’ve been caught up in the Barbenheimer blockbuster chaos, or too busy to switch off with a night at the movies, it’s still not too late to join in the festivities. There are still over 80 screenings left before the curtain closes, with an accommodating variety of genres and moods on the schedule. Are you after a rural deadpan thriller? Maybe a tense and soaring musical? Or will an offbeat rom-com do the trick? These few picks from the final showings offer a range of spectacles to pair with popcorn-eating.

Inside

Indie darling Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse, Nightmare Alley) plays an art thief in this intense, insular thriller. Dafoe, as Burglar Nemo, triggers a state-of-the-art security system upon his break into an opulent Manhattan apartment — locking him inside the space with no means of escape (and little food or water). The film draws on all-too-familiar pandemic claustrophobia and considers the startling effects of total isolation and loneliness. It’s a must-see for fans of Dafoe, with the film serving as a means to explore the actor’s range in what is largely a one-man show. The grand set of the apartment is also explored in inventive and exciting ways, with the debut feature director Vasilis Katsoupis unafraid to rip things apart for a bit of excitement.

Best for: Someone who needs a slow and pensive watch (but who can still handle a bit of chaos).

When to watch: Inside will show in Widescreen at Rialto Cinemas Newmarket on Friday at 8:30pm.

Gaga

Following the death of Grandpa Hayung (Chen De-qing), an Indigenous Taiwanese Atayal family must leap into action in order to protect the last piece of family land. With the mayor targeting the family’s home, the oldest son Pasang (Wilang Lain) decides to contest the political position, putting his name into the ring for the title. It’s being hailed as a heartwarming depiction of family ties, despite its representation of all the complicated strains and stressors of the tight-knit unit. The award-winning drama is the third feature film from Laha Mebow and won the film-maker the Best Director award at the 59th Taipei Golden Horse Awards, as well as the Singapore International Film Festival.

Best for: Someone who needs a wholesome and affirming watch, and is okay with a few teary moments.

When to watch: Gaga will play tonight at the ASB Waterfront Theatre at 8:15pm and on Friday at 3:30pm. It will be shown in widescreen at both sessions and be followed with a Q&A.

Home Kills

This gruesome horror-comedy is set in the increasingly quietening town of Mata, Northland, where a slowing family butchery service is landing brothers Tom (Cameron Jones) and Mark (Josh McKenzie) in financial trouble. At the helm of the business, the co-owners steer towards a darker path — hatching a plan to take out locally disliked dwellers for clients willing to pay the price. Haydn Butler is the director, writer and editor of the film. The creative says the unsettling story was inspired by a hand-painted sign spotted on a drive through the “back blocks” of Aotearoa. The production is not for the faint of heart and has earned an R16 rating for its gory details. Proceed with caution.

Best for: Horror fans prepped for hearty jumpscares.

When to watch: Home Kills will have its world premiere tonight at the Hollywood Avondale at 6:15pm and will also play at Academy Cinemas on Friday at 3:45pm. Both sessions will be followed by a Q&A.

Subject

This somewhat-meta film is likely to delight keen fans, as it seeks to unpack how the subject of a documentary fares in the aftermath of production. It revisits some of the people at the centre of major documentaries, investigating how the coverage has impacted their lives, for better and for worse. Film-makers Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla Hall follow subjects related to notable productions like the court case capturing The Staircase, the activist documentary The Square and the ambitious sports film Hoop Dreams. By engaging with the differing impacts for the people who have their stories and lives broadcast through documentary film-making, the film unpacks some of the complicated issues and ethics that lie at the centre of the potential-invasive method of filmmaking.

Best for: Film nerds looking for a thought-provoking meditation on ethics.

When to watch: Subject is showing on Friday at 4:15pm at Rialto Cinemas and on Saturday at 3:45pm at the ASB Waterfront Theatre.

Carmen

Benjamin Millepied, who was the choreographer for the thrilling dance horror Black Swan and the otherworldly Dune, makes his directorial debut with this operatic, musical drama film. Carmen draws some of its details from a French opera of the same name by composer Georges Bizet, but completely reimagines the plot and setting for a poignant and tense story. Melissa Barrera Martínez (In the Heights, Scream franchise) plays Carmen, a woman fleeing the Mexican desert, while Paul Mescal (Aftersun, Normal People) plays Aidan, a disillusioned veteran who impulsively joins her on the run. The film follows their journey across the US-Mexican border, as they head for Los Angeles, exploring their heightened emotions and fears through precisely choreographed, heartbreaking movements.

Best for: Ex-theatre kids, with a taste for high-stakes romance.

When to watch: Carmen is showing at the ASB Waterfront Theatre on Friday at 6:30pm; at The Bridgeway Cinema on Saturday at 11:30am; and at Academy Cinemas on Sunday at 4:45pm.

Grant Sheehan: Lights, Ghosts & Dreams

This profile piece considers the work and life of Grant Sheehan, a Wellington-based photographer who has captured a comprehensive collection of subjects throughout his career. Though he’s deeply familiar with travel photography and landscapes, one of his more recent projects ‘Does Ava Dream?’ considered the potential of artificial intelligence, imagining what a programme’s nighttime wonderings might look like. In the documentary Grant Sheehan: Lights, Ghosts & Dreams, Sheehan retraces his own career in a casual but intimate style, cataloguing the important blend of his curiosity and creativity. It’s likely that visitors unfamiliar with the photographer will find some familiarity in his photos, which are among the classic collections of Aotearoa’s landscapes.

Best for: Budding artists or seasoned art appreciators.

When to watch: Grant Sheehan: Lights, Ghosts & Dreams will show at Academy Cinemas, on Friday at 10:45am and on Saturday at 11:15am. Both sessions will be followed by a Q&A.

Fallen Leaves

This absurdist Finnish film will close the festival on Sunday evening, exploring the budding relationship between two lost and lonely souls after a chance meeting. Ansa (played by Alma Pöysti) is a recently fired zero-hour contract supermarket worker who stumbles into construction worker Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) at a karaoke bar — marking the couple’s unglamorous but sweet meet-cute. Despite opposing forces and mishaps, the two persist, attempting to nurture the first real love of their lives. For those after a bit of couch time this weekend, there is an opportunity to explore some of director Aki Kaurismäki’s previous works. The film is a continuation of his ‘Proletariat Trilogy’, which features off-beat and deadpan comedic works exploring the lives of work-class Finnish people. Many of the films in this year’s programme have explored intense and gritty subject matter — though the starring relationship is cooked in a strained and slightly tragic setting, Kaurismäki’s film is uplifting and a feel-good watch, making it a positive pick for the last watch of the festival. Fallen Leaves also took home the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2023.

Best for: A romantic realist with quirky taste.

When to watch: Fallen Leaves is showing today at 10:15am and on Sunday at 7pm, with both sessions at The Civic. The Sunday session will include an introduction, to celebrate the closing of the festival.

You can book tickets to the final days of the Auckland showings for Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival through the online schedule. The festival is set to tour throughout the country in the following months.