The Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival has announced the programmes for its two key homegrown short film showcases: New Zealand’s Best and Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts. The shorts will premiere in cinemas before becoming available to rent online.
See below for the official press release.
Festival Director Marten Rabarts says: “Extraordinary short films have so often announced the arrival of our new cinematic voices including Jane Campion, Taika Waititi, Alison McLean, Niki Caro, Katie Wolfe, Sima Urale and so many others, that curating our shorts programmes feels like opening a window on the future of cinema in New Zealand and the Pacific. This years’ short films confirm that future is in very good hands indeed.”
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Tusi Tamasese, renowned director of The Orator and One Thousand Ropes, is this year’s guest curator of New Zealand’s Best. “Overall, these films illustrate and reveal a range of human experiences and emotions,” Tamasese said. “They all had characters and stories I felt were different, unique and entrancing, and that I connected with because they explored aspects of humanity from interesting perspectives. From trapped minds and bodies to how people choose to live with the consequences of their choices, they deal with defining moments that weren’t always predictable.”
Here are his six choices.
Daddy’s Girl (Kōtiro)
Director: Cian Elyse White (12 mins)
Te Puhi shares kai with her father when the harsh reality of his dementia forces her to face a painful truth.
Daniel
Director: Claire Van Beek (19 mins)
A young novice at an isolated convent is confronted with the sudden desire to explore her sexuality when she meets the mysterious Daniel.
Love Is Real!
Director: Calvin Sang (13 mins)
Feuding couple Jamie and Millie are brought back together with the help of their AI home-assistant Ada and a musical extravaganza.
Oranges and Lemons
Director: Robyn Grace (13 mins)
Bullied at school and ignored at home, a young girl finds her voice in the strangest place in this evocative and atmospheric film set in a balmy 70s summer in rural New Zealand.
Pain
Director: Anna Duckworth (9 mins)
A young girl’s adoration of her father is dented when an indoor cricket mishap exposes his vulnerability.
Safety Net
Director: Anthea Williams (12 mins)
Cheeky 12-year-old Terry is taken into emergency care when his mother is arrested and finds an unlikely connection with one of his guardians.
The New Zealand’s Best competition films will premiere in cinemas with screenings at ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland on Saturday 25 July and at the Roxy Cinema in Wellington on Sunday 26 July with the online premiere to follow on Sunday 26 July. The films will then be available for online rental from Monday 27 July until Saturday 1 August.
A jury will decide the winners of the New Zealand’s Best two main prizes – the Creative New Zealand Best Short Film Award and the Madman Entertainment Emerging Talent Award. These awards will be presented at the in-cinema screening at ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland.
The Creative New Zealand Best Short Film Award is a cash prize of $4000. The Madman Entertainment Emerging Talent Award is a cash prize of $2000 and recognises a fresh voice: film-making that gives life to stories of those less often represented in film, or that speaks to new or existing audiences in different ways.
Audiences at the Auckland and Wellington screenings, and those who view the films online, will be able to vote for their favourite short and the Audience Award winner will receive 25% share of the box office takings from the New Zealand’s Best screenings online.
Guest selector Tusi Tamasese selected the six finalists from a shortlist of 12. Festival Director Marten Rabarts, Head of Programming Michael McDonnell, and Paris-based Programmer Sandra Reid viewed 78 submissions to prepare the shortlist.
Also announced today is the Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts programme, a collection of Māori and Pasifika short films is curated by Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka), Director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival, with guest co-curator Craig Fasi (Niue), Director of the Pollywood Film Festival.
The films selected for Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2020 are Purea (director: Kath Akuhata-Brown), Forgive Me (director: Chelsea Winstanley), Kapaemahu (directors: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson), Emily (director Mark Papalii), I Am The Moment (director: Robert George), Money Honey (director: Isaac Knights-Washbourn), and Gurl (director: Mika X).
The programme of shorts will screen in-cinema at ASB Waterfront Theatre on Sunday 26 July, and at the Roxy Cinema in Wellington. Ngā Whanaunga will premiere online on Monday 27 July and will be available for online rental from Tuesday 28 July until Sunday 2 August. Details of prizes for Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts will be announced in coming weeks.
Two additional curated programmes of New Zealand short films will also be included in the 2020 Festival – four short films themed around arts and artists, and six films that epitomise New Zealand in 2020 including one film made under COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown.
“We had an extremely strong selection of submissions to choose from this year from all corners of the country,” said the Festival’s Head of Programming Michael McDonnell. “So in addition to our usual programmes we’ll also be presenting a selection of more light-hearted and comedic shorts under the banner ‘Kiwi Shorts’ and a collection of artists’ films under the title ‘Art Shorts’.”
Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival is run by a charitable trust to enhance local appreciation of, and engagement with, global art and culture by providing access to a diverse range of high-quality film.
The full 2020 Film Festival programme will be announced on Thursday 25 June and the festival will run from 24 July – 2 August.
