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Missed out on tickets? Here’s your second chance! 

NZIFF encore screenings are your opportunity to catch some of this year’s most in-demand films, back for a limited time in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The sessions listed below will be added to film pages in the coming days - check back for the latest! 

And remember - tickets won’t last!

AUCKLAND

Breathless
Hollywood Avondale
Tue 12 Aug, 8:30pm

Forgotten Silver
Hollywood Avondale
Mon 11 Aug, 6:15pm

Happyend
Academy Cinemas
Tue 12 Aug, 8:30pm

It Was Just an Accident
Hollywood Avondale
Mon 11 Aug, 8:00pm

Kokuho
Academy Cinemas
Mon 11 Aug, 5:15pm
Academy Cinemas
Tue 12 Aug, 5:15pm

Life in One Chord
Hollywood Avondale
Sun 17 Aug, 6:30pm

A Little Something Extra
The Bridgeway
Mon 11 Aug, 6:15pm

Mistress Dispeller
Academy Cinemas
Mon 11 Aug, 8:30pm

Nouvelle Vague
Hollywood Avondale
Tue 12 Aug, 6:15pm

Prime Minister
The Bridgeway
Tue 12 Aug, 6:15pm

Hollywood Avondale
Sat 16 Aug 2:00pm

Sentimental Value
The Bridgeway
Wed 13 Aug, 6:15pm

TOITŪ Visual Sovereignty
The Bridgeway
Mon 11 Aug, 8:15pm

Vie Privée
Hollywood Avondale
Wed 13 Aug, 6:15pm

WELLINGTON

Breathless
Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema
Tue 26 Aug, 8:30pm

Forgotten Silver
The Embassy
Mon

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This year, NZIFF is rolling out the red carpet for the people in (and behind) the films.

From intimate Q&As to powerful opening night intros, over 50 live events across Aotearoa will bring filmmakers out from behind the camera and into the spotlight. You'll get the chance to see, hear from, and connect with an incredible line-up of local and international directors, actors, writers, and creatives - all appearing in person at screenings, workshops and panels nationwide.

Please note that guest appearances and live events may be subject to change. 

INTERNATIONAL GUESTS 

Dacre Montgomery 

Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery appears in person with his haunting new feature, Went Up the Hill

Auckland – Wednesday 7 August, 6:15pm at The Civic

Appearing at the screening of Went Up the Hill

Christchurch – Friday 8 August, 8:15pm at Lumière Cinemas 

Appearing at the screening of Went Up the Hill

Christchurch – Saturday 9 August, 10:00am at Lumière Cinemas (Bernhardt)

Appearing at the screening of Went Up the Hill

James Rabuatoka

A breakout Fijian talent whose performance in Bati brings strength, soul, and deep emotional power to the screen

Auckland – Saturday 9 August, 1:45pm at Hollywood Avondale

Appearing at the screening of Bati

Auckland – Sunday 10

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Big name actors get plenty of time in the limelight, but who's making moves behind the camera? These internationally-acclaimed directors are ones to watch, and they all have films at this year's festival. 

Jafar Panahi
It Was Just an Accident 2025
Yek tasadef sadeh

Legendary Iranian director Jafar Panahi is just the fourth director ever to snag the top prizes at the Venice, Berlin, and Cannes film festivals. He took home the Golden Lion in 2000 for The Circle, and the Golden Bear in 2015 for Tehran Taxi, both of which have screened at the Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival. So it’s a fitting, full circle tribute to “one of the greatest artists of contemporary cinema and one of its most empathetic and committed humanists,” that this year's opening night film is the rousing 2025 Palme d’Or winning It Was Just an Accident.

A bigger accomplishment than any film festival top prize, is that despite travel bans, house arrests, imprisonment, and a 20-year ban from filmmaking, Panahi has never shied from his courageous commitment to “crafting self-reflexive works about political, artistic and personal freedom.” Ruled as “propaganda against the system” by the Iranian government, all of Panahi’s films

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Looking for a physical NZIFF 2025 programme? These are the main spots where you’ll always find one. 

We’re also dropping them off at loads of local haunts from cafes and cinemas to libraries and bookshops across the country, so keep an eye out wherever you go! 

And if you simply can’t wait, digital programmes are available to browse here:

North Island Programme

South Island Programme 

AUCKLAND: PRE-SALE 8-10 JULY, TICKETS ON GENERAL SALE 11 JULY

The Civic

The Bridgeway

Hollywood Avondale

SkyCity Theatre

Academy Cinemas

Lido Cinema

Central Library

Takapuna Library

Epsom Library

St Heliers Library

Auckland Uni Students Association

95bFM (Auckland University)

Mezze Bar

TimeOut Bookstore

Unity Books

WELLINGTON: PRE-SALE 15-17 JULY, TICKETS ON GENERAL SALE 18 JULY

Embassy Theatre

Roxy Cinema

Light House Cinema Cuba

Light House Cinema Petone

Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema

Unity Books

HAMILTON: TICKETS ON SALE 31 JULY

Lido Cinema

Waikato University Student Union

NAPIER: TICKETS ON SALE 31 JULY

MTG Century Theatre

NEW PLYMOUTH: TICKETS ON SALE 21 JULY

Len Lye Cinema

TAURANGA: TICKETS ON SALE 31 JULY

Luxe Cinemas

MASTERTON: TICKETS ON SALE 31 JULY

The Screening Room

CHRISTCHURCH: TICKETS ON SALE 18 JULY

Lumiere Cinemas

University of Canterbury

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Couldn’t make it to the red carpet this year? No worries. We’ve brought Cannes to you. NZIFF 2025 features a hand-picked selection from the world’s most glamorous and influential film festival, with bold new works, major prize-winners and future classics from around the globe.

Opening the Festival is this year’s Palme d’Or winner, It Was Just an Accident, a politically charged thriller from acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi. After years behind bars and under a filmmaking ban, Panahi returns with a gripping road movie about vengeance, memory and power. The story follows Vahid, a former political prisoner, who sets out to confront the man who tortured him. Along the way, he picks up a vanload of fellow survivors, each with their own story to tell. The result is dark, absurd, and emotionally raw.

Our Closing Night film is Sentimental Value, a Cannes Grand Prix winner directed by Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World). Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård star as a daughter and estranged father, forced to reconnect when he announces plans to make a film about their turbulent past. Smart, moving and quietly hilarious, it is a beautiful portrait of a fractured family and the stories we

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