Get your scarf, finger-less gloves and woolly hat on stand by: the NZ International Film Festival is less than a month away. It’s time to get excited.
This Tuesday night the Festival announces their 2011 line-up and we’ll have full details up the moment that list is released (around 7pm). Check back then. In the meantime, here are the titles already confirmed…
The Trip
Michael Winterbottom’s (24 Hour Party People) culinary-road-tripping comedy-drama with two of the funniest men in the world: Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Watch the trailer.
Submarine
This Brit coming-of-age comedy looks brillirnat: the directorial debut from the bespectacled co-star of The IT Crowd, Richard Ayoade, executive-produced by Ben Stiller, and featuring a score by Arctic Monkey’s frontman, Alex Turner. Watch the trailer.
Taxi Driver
The seminal Scorsese/De Niro flick, on it’s 35th birthday, in a brand new 35mm film print restoration.
Meek’s Cutoff
From Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy), an “alt-Western” set in 1845 with Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Shirley Henderson (read our Q&A with Shirley Henderson here).
Tabloid
From documentary-master Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War), about Joyce McKinner – a former Miss Wyoming – and her headline-grabbing exploits that ignited tabloids in the ’70s. Watch the trailer.
Bobby Fischer Against the World
Documentary portrait of American “rock-star chess player” Fischer: his rise to triumph over Soviet chess champ Boris Spassky, and his decline into tabloid notoriety as a recluse and political pariah.
Norwegian Wood
Nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, Japanese romance based on the Haruki Murakami novel. Watch the trailer.
POM Wonderful Presents: The Great Movie Ever Sold
Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) takes on the billion dollar business of product placement in Hollywood.
Snowtown
Australian crime-drama about serial killer John Bunting. Watch the trailer.
Senna
Documentary on Brazilian Formula One legend Ayrton Senna. Watch the trailer.
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Behind the scenes of the world’s most famous newspaper and how it’s coping with the new media industry. Watch the trailer.
Miss Representation
Doco on the under-representation of women in the media. Watch the trailer.
A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt
Doco about Liebrandt – English chef and “early adventurer in post-modernist cuisine”. By Kiwi expat director Sally Rowe.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Another culinary-doco about an 85-year-old sushi legend.
Autumn Gold
Doco on five senior atheletes, training up for the World Masters Champions. Watch the trailer.
Fire in Babylon
Doco on West Indian cricket’s glory years: “The story of the West Indies’ late-‘70s ascension from happy-go-lucky ‘calypso cricketers’ to world beaters…” Watch the trailer.
The Solitude of Prime Numbers
Italian/German drama based on the novel by Paolo Giordano. Nomainted for the Golden Lion at Venice.
Guilty Pleasures
Documentary on the romance novels of Mills and Boon and, in particular, five people obsessed with them.
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
Screening in Ant Timpson’s ‘Incredibly Strange’ selection – about two roomates who record the hilarious arguments of their neighbours which go on to be a viral hit long before YouTube.
Come back Tuesday night for the full 2011 line-up!
