What’s On: Literary Luminaries, Film Festivals & More Good Things For The Weekend

This weekend welcomes bonafide writing heavyweights and a host of on-screen spectacles.

Celebrate local and international literary talents

After much anticipation, the Auckland Writers Festival, Waituhi o Tāmaki, is officially off and running. It’s the third day of the festival, and there are four days left to celebrate the creative arts with the best in literature. Tonight, the Festival Gala returns, seeing eight authors share personal seven-minute stories based on a single prompt — this year that prompt is “In Real Life.” The authors set to share their tales at the event are Dr Hinemoa Elder (Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāpuhi), Bernardine Evaristo, poet Anthony Joseph, Korean-New Zealand author Graci Kim, Vietnamese novelist Dr Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, film-maker Gaylene Preston, food writer William Sitwell and Oji-Cree author Joshua Whitehead. This weekend will also see talks from major talents, panels with authors set to kōrero and surprising streetside performances. See the full programme at Writersfestival.co.nz

Head along to a weekend film festival

The Lopdell Theatre in Titirangi kicked off its annual film festival last night, with a screening of Delicious (in partnership with the French Film Festival). The festival continues over the weekend, with eight more films playing in the historic, cosy venue. Tonight, Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival will play at 6pm. The festival will also host titles such as She Said, Tár, Quant and Triangle of Sadness, among others. Tickets and times are available through Lopdellprecinct.org.nz

See an exhibition

Multidisciplinary artist Tim Christie is set to open a showing at The Poi Room in Newmarket, with 23 unique trick-of-the-eye pieces available to view. The artist explains, “Images emerge out of my designs to become more clearly defined as you move away from them.” The new exhibition, named Emergination, will have its opening night tonight. Starting at 5:30pm, guests will be treated to Christie’s work, as well as drinks and nibbles. The exhibition closes on May 28.

Objectspace will open an exhibition celebrating the best in type design this weekend, with TDC68: The World’s Best Typography. The gallery will host striking pieces by 202 winners from the annual Type Directors Club awards, which seek to “recognise design excellence and typographic innovation” on the world stage. The opening celebration is fully booked, but the exhibition will be open to stroll from May 20 to 28.

Tune into a documentary showcase

The Documentary Edge International Film Festival begins on May 24, next Wednesday, and will see film-makers from around the world touching down in Aotearoa for their premieres. There are 71 films and 22 extended reality exhibitions showing as part of the festival. Some of the highlights from the festival include Taking Back Our Beach, a film by Rosalie Liddle Crawford and Anton Steel that follows the community actions taken in the Bay of Plenty after the infamous grounding of the MV Rena on the Astrolabe Reef; Big Kids, a short film that follows Daniel Mulholland, an NZ-based master Lego builder who has been diagnosed with PTSD; and Love to Love You, Donna Summer, an archival doco that paints a vivid portrait of the beloved disco musician. In Auckland, the festival runs from May 24 to June 5; in Wellington it begins on June 7 and ends June 18; the virtual showings are available online from June 19 to July 9. The full programme is available online.

See a play

The Haka Party Incident, which received rave reviews upon its debut, will return to Auckland on June 8 for a four-night run. Directed by Katie Wolfe (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Toa Rangatira), the verbatim theatre piece explores the defining historical event at the University of Auckland, where activist group He Taua confronted engineering students who were rehearsing a mock haka. In 2021, Ethan Sills of the NZ Herald wrote of the play, “This was a prime example of theatre’s power to inform, educate and enlighten audiences as well as entertain.” The Haka Party Incident will run at Te Pou Theatre in Henderson from June 8 to 11. Tickets start from $15. A national tour is also scheduled to begin after this run.

Book ahead

On June 2, Homestead Galleries will open a group exhibition called Ngā Whetū with pieces from Māori artists that speak to the Matariki star cluster and Punaga. The exhibition sees the artists display different methods of storytelling from personal perspectives as Aotearoa heralds in the new year. The artists featured in the exhibition include Atareta Black, Tony Brown, Aroha Gossage, Penny Howard, Wikuki Kingi, Lisa Reihana, Kauri Wharewera, Mele Siniva Williams, Ann Uerata and Louie Zalk-Neale. The exhibition closes on July 13.

Visit the Jurassic World

Wellington will be home to an exclusive exhibition this July, as Ryan ‘Brickman’ McNaught uses his Lego-building talents to imagine the star creatures of the Jurassic World franchise. It has taken more than two years and 10,000 hours of building from a whole team to bring the exhibition to life. The exhibition includes large-scale dinosaurs, alongside recreations of props, scenes and activities created with over six million Lego bricks — one of the dinosaurs is over 400 kilograms. The exhibition will be open to explore in Tākina, Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, on June 3. Tickets are available through Ticketek.co.nz

Book in for a gig

Elemental Nights will return in July, as a part of Elemental AKL 2023, set to celebrate the city with major local and international names. Among the first acts announced as a part of the series are British rock band Idles, Swedish pop star Tove Lo, English hip-hop phenom Loyle Carner and NZ icon Bic Runga, who will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of her album Beautiful Collison. There are more artists to be announced, but tickets for these acts are now on sale through Elementalnights.com