The New Zealand International Film Festival today revealed 17 films that will be screening direct from Cannes in its 2015 programme, including award winners The Assassin (Best Director) and The Lobster (Jury Prize).
From the Cannes Competition
Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien brings The Assassin, a ravishing historical drama inspired by 9th-century Tang Dynasty fiction, and the winner of Best Director at Cannes 2015. Jury Prize winner The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos) will also screen, as will The Measure of a Man (Stéphane Brizé), which collected the award for Best Actor (Vincent Lindon). Other Competition titles that make it straight from Cannes to NZIFF are Nanni Moretti’s Mia madre, Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Our Little Sister and Matteo Garrone’s Tale of Tales.
From Un Certain Regard
From Un Certain Regard, a section that supplements the Competition selection, is Un Certain Regard Prize winner Rams from Grímur Hákonarson, Yared Zeleke’s Lamb, and Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cemetery of Splendour.
From the Directors’ Fortnight
From the Directors’ Fortnight, widely considered Cannes’ strongest section this year, NZIFF has secured three-part epic Arabian Nights from Miguel Gomes, Jaco Van Dormael’s The Brand New Testament, Colombian director Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent, Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s Mustang, along with My Golden Days from Cannes veteran Arnaud Desplechin. From Japanese director Miike Takashi comes Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld; also screening is the already announced indie urban film Dope from Rick Famuyiwa.
From the Cannes Classics
This year, NZIFF brings a selection from the Cannes Classics: Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans from directing duo Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna.
Two films that screened out of competition will also feature: Love, shot in 3D, from director Gaspar Noé, and the previously announced Amy Winehouse biography Amy from Asif Kapadia.
“It’s a scramble every year to tie down the films we want from Cannes when we can’t see them until a fortnight before our deadline, but somehow we’ve done it again. Our programmer Sandra Reid went into Cannes knowing a handful of titles would be held back for the US Awards seasons, but otherwise it was a matter of zeroing in on everything else that looked exciting. Which was hardly cutting it down. We’ve emerged with a fantastic variety, from outrageous comedy, to meditative Thai art cinema to a charming French memoir of youthful love and adventure,” says NZIFF Director Bill Gosden.
All films are confirmed to screen in Auckland and Wellington and most will screen much more widely. Further location listings will be advised on www.nziff.co.nz once availability and distributor arrangements are confirmed.
