Love Stories

Arman, a 33-year-old Parisian slacker (and self-deprecating livewire), is out running when he collides with the stunning, oddly impassive Amelie. There’s a seductive undertow of gravity to this engagingly self-aware romcom.

Michael Douglas becomes a glittering colossus of kitsch as Liberace, the most flamboyantly gay, closeted entertainer in Las Vegas, while Matt Damon is achingly right as the young hunk who became his companion in the late 70s.

Music is the food of love and a consolation in heartbreak in the fateful romance of a seasoned banjo player and the new lead vocalist in a (very good) Belgian bluegrass band. A European hit rich in American roots music.

A rarely seen classic of world cinema, Satyajit Ray’s deft and moving adaptation of a novella by Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore is presented in a brand new digital restoration direct from its Cannes screening.

This astounding and rarely seen masterpiece of 20s cinema juxtaposes individual dreams and the mass energy of pre-Depression New York City to mesmerising effect. With a live score composed by Cloudboy’s Jo Contag.

This affectionate, though hardly sugar-coated, portrait of two artists you probably have never heard of may well prove an NZIFF favourite.

Eighteen-year-old Shira must choose a husband in this sensitive drama that provides rare insight into family tradition and personal choice in Tel Aviv’s Hared community.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s superb, universally acclaimed production of the great Romantic ballet Giselle has now been made into a superb film, directed by Toa Fraser and shot by Leon Narbey. With Gillian Murphy, Qi Huan.

“A divorced woman in her late 50s recaptures her life in Sebastián Lelio’s pitch-perfect, terrifically written Gloria.” — Variety. The enormously appealing Paulina García won the Best Actress prize at the Berlin Festival.

The elderly dancers in a Montevideo tango bar talk to a young filmmaker about love. “Captures an intimacy for the couples and singles that allows them to tell their stories of joy, loss, family drama and betrayal.” — Hot Docs

Michel Gondry’s eye-popping film is a surreal romantic tragedy set in a retro-futurist Paris, with Romain Duris, Audrey Tatou, Omar Sy. “Gondry builds a beautifully busy alternate universe full of surprises.” — Screendaily

Joss Whedon and a cast of his TV regulars breathe fresh life into Shakespeare’s comedy of romantic gamesmanship. “The first great contemporary Shakespeare since Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.” — The Guardian

With his unfaltering production schedule delivering a new film every NZIFF season, the prolific Hong Sang-soo continues to charm and delight audiences hip to his perceptive but ever-cynical take on modern relationships.

Direct from Cannes, the latest entry from Jim Jarmusch, past master of punk cool. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton are Adam and Eve, blood-sipping lovers since time began. “Passionate and consummately chic.” — Screendaily

The great Iranian director Asghar Farhadi turns his attention to a Parisian household in a drama as intimate and gripping as his A Separation. Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) in the pivotal role took the Best Actress Award at Cannes.

Shakespeare’s tale of teen love reimagined as a rock opera set in a beachside caravan park. A triumphant blast of style and 21st-century Kiwi trailer trash pop. Classic tragedy probably shouldn’t be quite this much fun.

Actress and director Sarah Polley turns documentary maker to give us a surprising portrait of her own family. “An invigorating powerhouse of a personal documentary, adventurous and absolutely fascinating.” — LA Times

Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem and Olga Kurylenko star in an impressionistic contemplation of eroticism and grace by Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life). “A rapturous photo essay on carnal and spiritual love.” — Time

The year’s most tantalising cinematic whatsit from writer/director/editor/composer/star Shane Carruth (Primer). “An out-there yet undeniably gripping tale that's part romance, part sci-fi and utterly original.” — LA Times