Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) announces its first ten films for this year’s programme.
The first films for NZIFF 2024 (31 July – 4 September) have been unveiled. The ten newly announced titles also introduce the ten sections that comprise this year’s programme.
Artistic Director Paolo Bertolin says, “A film festival is a space for encounter and dialogue. The communal experience of watching a film in a theatre brings together bodies and minds, sparking a conversation between the works of filmmakers and their audiences. Curating the programme of an international film festival does not simply mean choosing the best films available across the world at that time, it is a mission in facilitating a meeting between a film and its audience, providing opportunities for discovery, entertainment, and reflection. It is an equally exciting and challenging task.”
The ten films, and sections, are…
Never Look Away
Directed by Lucy Lawless – Aotearoa New Zealand, 2024
NZIFF synopsis: New Zealand-born CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth walks on the razor’s edge between sanity and death. Her first assignment with CNN is to cover the riots that followed Indira Gandhi’s assassination in India. She goes on to cover conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and the Bosnian war. In vivid, emotional detail, we see what Moth saw and how she in turn changed what we, the television viewer, saw. A rollicking ride through sex, drugs and war, Never Look Away is war from a female perspective, as you’ve never seen it before.
Playing in the section ‘Māhutonga’: Illuminating the pathway to the storytellers from Aotearoa is our constellation of Māhutonga – lighting up the Southern Skies via the Southern Cross.
Brief History of a Family
Directed by Lin Jianjie – China, 2024
NZIFF synopsis: Equally mysterious and revealing, Lin Jianjie’s debut feature provides a dispassionate, almost analytical look into the dynamics of estranged family relations in contemporary China. Drawing inspiration from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Theorem (1968), the surreal tale of a stranger seducing every member of one family, the director dissects the unspoken and unacknowledged dissolution of a bourgeois household, as an inconspicuous intruder integrates himself among its members and reawakens their suppressed individualities. Lin observes his characters with a detached, almost scientific look, as if they were framed through the lens of a microscope. The result is a quietly thrilling investigation into the pretence undermining the pillars of a society.
Playing in the section ‘Fresh’: First narrative features from brand new voices of international cinema.
The Speedway Murders
Directed by Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien – Australia 2023
NZIFF synopsis: On November 17, 1978, four young employees of Indianapolis fast food chain Burger Chef went missing after closing up for the night. Two days later, their bodies were found in rural Johnson County, around 32 kilometres away. The case remains unsolved to this day. Gripping and visually stunning, The Speedway Murders is remarkable not only for its stylistic choices and investigation of an intriguing case, but also the rare accomplishment of effectively and respectfully honouring victims and their families. Presented with deep care and authenticity, right down to the real 1970s Burger Chef uniforms, this is an incredibly impressive debut from Australian directors Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien.
Playing in the section ‘Frames’: Works that explore and expand the language of documentary filmmaking.
My Favourite Cake
Directed by Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghadam – Iran, 2024
NZIFF synopsis: Seventy-year-old Mahin has been living alone in Tehran since her husband died and her daughter left for Europe. One afternoon, tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life. As Mahin opens herself up to a new romance, what begins as a surprise encounter evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening. A huge hit with critics and audiences alike at the 2024 Berlinale, My Favourite Cake is an endearing portrayal of a woman who gives herself a second chance at life and love – and is faced with unexpected consequences. Co-directors Sanaeeha and Moghadan deftly deliver social criticism with a story that is equally charming and touching.
Playing in the section ‘Portraits’: Character-driven narrative and documentary films that draw us into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people.
The Teachers’ Lounge
Directed by Ilker Çatak – Germany, 2023
NZIFF synopsis: Carla Nowak, a dedicated PE and maths teacher, starts her first job at a high school. She stands out among the new staff because of her idealism. When a series of thefts occur at the school and one of her students is identified as a suspect, she decides to get to the bottom of the matter on her own. Carla tries to mediate between outraged parents, opinionated colleagues and aggressive students, but is relentlessly confronted with the structures of the school system. The more desperately she tries to do everything right, the more the young teacher threatens to break.
Playing in the section ‘Widescreen’: Narrative and documentary films that provide snapshots from diverse realities from across the globe.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Directed by Ariane Louis-Seize – Canada, 2023
NZIFF synopsis: Sasha is a young vampire with a serious problem: she’s too sensitive to kill! When her exasperated parents cut off her blood supply, Sasha’s life is in jeopardy. Luckily, she meets Paul, a lonely teenager who is willing to give his life to save hers. But their friendly agreement soon becomes a nocturnal quest to fulfil Paul’s last wishes before day breaks. Winner of a swathe of awards including the highly coveted 2023 Venice Film Festival Director Award, Ariane Louis-Seize’s stylish, sweet teen romantasy is destined to win countless bloodsucking hearts with its many darkly tinged delights.
Playing in the section ‘Nocturnal’: An evening strand devoted to irreverent genre and out-of-the-box films.
In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon
Directed by Alex Gibney – USA, 2023
NZIFF synopsis: In Restless Dreams is the definitive musical biography of Paul Simon, one of the greatest songwriters and performers in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Granted unprecedented access to the making of a new album, Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, NZIFF 2015) also reveals never-before-seen footage of Simon’s extraordinary career, from Simon & Garfunkel to the phenomenal global success of Simon’s solo album Graceland, plus glimpses of his personal life that has included a brief marriage to Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, and a long and enduring one to Texan singer Edie Brickell.
Playing in the section ‘Rhythms’: Narrative and documentary films centered around music and its forms.
Evil Does Not Exist
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Japan, 2023
NZIFF synopsis: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to the award-winning Drive My Car (NZIFF 2022) is a profound eco-parable that takes place in the outskirts of Tokyo. In a tiny village, deep in the forest, single father Takumi and his eight-year-old daughter Hana live a simple life, surrounded by pristine lakes, mountains, and roaming deer. The serenity is interrupted when an urban development company visits with a proposal – one that will threaten the region’s delicate ecological balance and irrevocably change the lives of its inhabitants. With a staggering finale that will spark debate long after the credits roll, Evil Does Not Exist is a thought-provoking masterpiece about the delicate balance between humanity and nature.
Playing in the section ‘Visions’: Works showcasing the distinct cinematic style of revered masters and emerging talents.
The Monk and the Gun
Directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji – Bhutan/France/USA/Taiwan, 2023
NZIFF synopsis: When young monk Tashi’s lama (Buddhist master) asks him to procure a pair of guns in advance of their country’s first mock election – to “set it right”, whatever that means – he doesn’t ask questions, he simply strolls off into the unspoiled countryside towards neighbouring Ura village. One problem: Tashi has never seen a gun before! Sporting a premise that could lead to tragedy, tomfoolery, or transcendence, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s The Monk and the Gun keeps you guessing, with a cheeky half-smile at the corner of its cinematic mouth.
Playing in the section ‘Journeys’: Presenting films from specific countries or regions, beginning in The Himalayas.
Days of Heaven
Directed by Terrence Malick – USA, 1978
NZIFF synopsis: Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, the wispy tale of a doomed love triangle on the Texas prairie before World War I, is a visual astonishment of the highest order. Bill has gotten into a fight which ends with the killing of a steel mill foreman. On the run with his lover, Abby, and his younger sister Linda, the three take up seasonal work for a farmer who falls for Abby, kicking off a tragic chain of events that will alter the course of their lives. Arriving within the “New Hollywood” era, Days of Heaven reflects the subversive ideas of the time – a grand melodrama sans-soapiness, opting instead for visual lyricism and elegiac, haunting majesty.
Playing in the section ‘Treasures’: A section of hand-picked classics and recently restored films.
For more details on NZIFF, visit the official site.
